The Prince's Destiny Read online

  The Prince’s Destiny

  J.L. Woodlove

  Copyright © 2019, J.L. Woodlove

  Kindle edition

  Written by J.L. Woodlove

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.

  Disclaimer: The material in this book is for mature audiences only and contains graphic content. It is intended only for those aged 18 and older.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter One

  Ravi ascended the steps slowly and quietly, as he’d been advised. Not only because the stairs were so well concealed within the trees that he could barely see where he walked. Not even because the hut in the trees before him was so well hidden amongst the foliage that he hadn’t even noticed it until Abhi – the man who had spent the past three days guiding him through the thick jungle- had pointed it out to him. He went slowly because Abhi had warned him that was how the shaman in that hut preferred to be approached. That he possessed some kind of magic which prevented others from entering his home without his permission. And he couldn’t afford to displease him.

  He’d been travelling for many days, hardly stopping to rest or even to eat, to find the shaman. He had never met him before, or even encountered anybody else who had except for Abhi. But he knew well the rumours of the shaman living deep in this jungle who could perform amazing feats, if you could find him. Not just cure sickness or turn lead into gold. It was said that this shaman could tell you your destiny.

  That was clearly why he lived so remotely, and why Ravi had needed to travel so far to seek out a man he’d never met and hadn’t even been certain even existed. But he was desperate.

  He stopped on one of the final steps, fearful to proceed forwards, despite now seeing the hut clearly. The wooden walls and leafy ceiling blended into the jungle so well that it really did seem like the hut was a part of the jungle, as much as any of the other trees which sprouted from the ground. He’d come all this way, was willing to make any sacrifice necessary to know his destiny, yet now he wasn’t sure how to proceed. A man so secretive and so powerful wouldn’t be expecting a simple knock on the door – not that he even had a door – or for somebody to walk in unexpectedly. He should have asked Abhi more about how to approach the man.

  “If you want to come in, take a few steps forward,” an unfamiliar voice came from the hut, deep and almost booming. Ravi went rigid. “There’s a ward around my home to keep out the insects. You’ll want to take a few steps forward if you wish to be free from the mosquitos.”

  Ravi only then felt the itch of half a dozen mosquitos over his body, at different stages of consuming his blood. He was no stranger to them, yet he’d been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn’t even noticed their buzzing or their stinging bites. Slapping the last of them away, too late to prevent them from taking his blood, he stumbled the final steps forward until he could see into the hut. It was a curious place; the leafy exterior hiding bamboo walls and wooden floors held up by tree branches, the moss left undisturbed. Taking a step closer, Ravi finally saw him and took a surprised breath.

  He’d pictured an ancient sadhu, tiny and shrivelled over with a grey beard down to his knees. The man before him had no more than a decade on Ravi’s 24 years. He didn’t wear the sadhu’s white markings on his body, but did have the same hair, thick and long as rope tied up on his head. Taking a few steps closer so that he could see him fully, Ravi realised that in place of the saffron robes usually worn by sadhu, he wore only a loin cloth covering his groin and buttocks. The sight of which made Ravi want to blush and look away from embarrassment, yet it drew his eye.

  The man remained bent over his work bench making some kind of potion in a large clay pot, reaching into jars, sprinkling substances Ravi couldn’t even identify into the pot, and stirring it all with a large wooden spoon.

  For a moment, Ravi thought he hadn’t even noticed him there. Perhaps that voice had come from a second person. Then, the shaman turned, spending a long moment to take him in. Ravi felt himself blush further both from his gaze, and from seeing more of his exposed chest.

  “Have a seat,” the man said again in his deep voice, indicating to a stool next to Ravi. “I know you’ve come a long way. There’s water there. And I’ll find you some food.” He abandoned the bubbling pot to move to another cabinet, rustling inside for a moment before returning with a bowl of lentils.

  “Thank you,” Ravi said as he took the lentils, his fingers brushing against the shaman’s for a moment.

  “My name is Ishwar,” the man said. “Do you mind if I work while we talk? I have to deliver this to the village tomorrow.” He indicated the bubbling potion behind him.

  “No, please do,” Ravi said as he swallowed the lentils. They were flavoured with spices Ravi couldn’t identify, and welcome to him after days spent eating only stale naan. But he wasn’t there for new cuisine. “A serious matter troubles me.”

  “It is nothing less which brings men to me,” Ishwar said, not looking at Ravi as he continued his work, moving with knowing precision.

  “I’m Prince Ravi Chakarvarti, heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Raegaryn,” Ravi announced. Ishwar took the revelation that a Prince sat in his home with barely a short glance in his direction. He must be used to such important men seeking him out, Ravi realised. “Have you heard about our country’s conflict with the Jade Empire?”

  “I made my home out here so that I wouldn’t need to be troubled with the strives of the world at large,” Ishwar said. “But even here, I have heard rumours. The people in the village worry. They think that they are going to be forced from their homes or starve.”

  “Their worries aren’t for nothing,” Ravi said, his head hung. Even Abhi, his guide, had voiced those concerns for his family. When Ravi had paid him far more than what three days of guidance were worth, he’d tried to refuse, until Ravi demanded he take it, knowing that times were hard. Abhi had thanked him over and over again and left him at Ishwar’s hut with a grateful smile and tears in his eyes.

  He’d heard the same concerns on his journey from the palace. Against his father’s demands, he’d travelled without guards in peasant clothes to avoid detection. It hadn’t been difficult, for none outside the palace recognised his face, and there were scours of young men his own age who had been given the same first name as him after his birth. Everywhere he’d stopped to rest or restock his supplies, he’d heard worries, rumours, and fears. It followed him everywhere, like a storm cloud which would not dissipate.

  “That’s why I’ve come all this way,” Ravi continued. “Is it true what the rumours say- that you can tell a person their destiny?”

  “It is.”

  Ravi’s heart beat faster.

  “And can destiny be changed?” he added, gripping his dhoti, afraid to hear the answer.

  “That depends on how much the person is willing to work for it,” Ishwar answered. “So, yes, if a person does know their destiny, they can take action to change it.”

  “Then please, tell me my destiny,” Ravi said, rising from his seat and falling to the ground on his knees, a gesture he’d never had to make before. Ishwar stopped his mixing for a moment to stare at him. “I’ll pay you any price. I’ll make any sacrifice you want. But I have to know my destiny so that I can stop this war with the Jade Empire and save o
ur Kingdom. I beg of you.” He lowered himself so far that his forehead touched the wood. He remained there, trembling, as he heard Ishwar’s footsteps towards him. He was showing fear, just what his father always told him not to do. Especially when a time of war was approaching. Yet his desperation was so great that he couldn’t see what else he could do. Ishwar’s footsteps ended before him. After a moment, he felt the man’s calloused hands on the back of his head, gently raising him back up until he was looking into his eyes.

  “There’s no need to beg. I will help you,” he said. “And I don’t accept payment for telling a person their destiny.”

  “So… you’ll agree to tell me my destiny?” Ravi said. Ishwar motioned for him to return to his seat.

  “That depends on if you accept the terms,” Ishwar said. Ravi was about to ask why he would need to consent, but Ishwar continued. “There are two things you must know about how I can tell a person their destiny. First of all, I cannot brew it up as easily as I do my potions. And I cannot read it the way an astrologer reads a horoscope in the stars.”

  Ravi glanced at the sky, which even underneath the canopy he could see darkening, and clenched from the revelation. He hadn’t expected this to be easy, yet the words discouraged him none the less.

  “There are only two ways I can know a person’s destiny. The first is if I have a close emotional bond with that person. But that can take months or even years to form. And I can assume you don’t have that much time.”

  “No,” Ravi said, his throat growing dry, despite the water offered to him earlier.

  “So, the only other way is to form a close physical bond,” Ishwar said. Ravi thought for a moment, before the revelation came to him.

  “You… you mean…” he stammered, eyes darting between Ishwar and the bed on the other side of the room, which he had only just noticed, and now couldn’t look away from.

  “Yes.”

  Ravi swallowed. He wasn’t innocent or embarrassed at the thought of sex. He regularly sought it out from the male guards or servants in the palace. He was simply surprised. He’d known he would have to make a great sacrifice or pay a heavy price to know his destiny. Yet he’d been expecting to hand over a large bag of coins or to promise his eternal soul. The thought of the sacrifice he’d have to make had haunted him for weeks.

  But the sacrifice was barely a sacrifice at all. It was a pleasure.

  “The second thing,” Ishwar continued, returning Ravi’s thoughts to the conversation, “is that a person’s destiny is equal to their status in the world. And the higher a person’s status, the longer it will take me to form the physical bond needed to know their destiny.”

  “How long?” Ravi asked, not sure if he was dreading or excited to hear the answer.

  “For a simple man it can take less than a day. For a Prince such as yourself, whose decisions affect entire Kingdoms, it could be nearly a month.”

  A month. An entire month of pleasure with this man. To know his body so well. It didn’t seem fair. He was supposed to make a great sacrifice to save the Kingdom. It wasn’t supposed to feed his own desires. It seemed far too selfish.

  Yet if this was truly the only way to know his destiny, he was more than willing to do it.

  “A month should be fine. It will be a few months before the Jade Empire gathers their army together,” Ravi said, to which Ishwar nodded with understanding. “Can I… ask you one thing?”

  “Anything.”

  “If… if I wasn’t here to know my destiny… If I were simply a man you had met on the road or in a village, would you… would you… still desire me?” Ravi asked, licking his lips for the dozenth time in as many minutes, his gaze fixed on Ishwar’s feet. He didn’t even see as Ishwar lowered his hand to Ravi’s chin and raised it up to meet his eyes once again.

  “You, my Prince? I would walk the entire length of this Kingdom barefoot for the chance to spend one night in your bed.”

  Ravi could practically feel the shade of red his cheeks must have taken.

  “And what about you? If I were a mere servant in your palace, would you break with protocol to be with me?” Ishwar asked.

  “Absolutely!” Ravi said, shifting forward closer to Ishwar’s body, not even needing to consider the question. The shaman leant down so that their faces were close.

  “Then we don’t have a problem,” he whispered before he and Ravi devoured each other’s lips.

  Chapter Two

  The kiss seemed to send him all the way to the stars and back again before they broke apart and Ravi returned to Earth, suddenly remembered that he was still sat in a hut in a tree in the middle of a jungle far away from the palace.

  “Do you want to start now?” Ishwar asked, brushing a hand over Ravi’s hair.

  “I’ve been travelling for weeks. I’m covered in sweat,” Ravi said, suddenly shy again.

  “What we’ll do will make you plenty sweaty,” Ishwar chuckled, the corners of his mouth twisting up into a smile. It was the first smile that Ravi had seen on the man’s face, which had seemed so serious until that moment. It lit up his eyes and made him look all the more attractive. “Besides,” he added, taking Ravi by the hands and pulling him to his feet, “I should give you some creams to take care of your mosquito bites.”

  “Yes, I have become a feast for them,” Ravi let out a small laugh of his own. It only then occurred to him that he couldn’t recall the last time he’d laughed, or even smiled. The past few months had been full of stress and worry over the impending war. He hadn’t invited another man to his bed in all that time. He hadn’t even thought about his own desires for a long while. Now, with Ishwar before him, and the thought of a month of sex with this man, he felt himself growing hard and aroused for the first time in weeks.

  Ishwar took his hands and led him to the bed, Ravi’s heart pounding faster with each step. The shaman prompted for him to sit, standing before the bed and looming over the Prince.

  “Wait here for a moment,” he said, running a hand over Ravi’s clothed arm. “And take off your shirt.”

  “You don’t have to do all of this for me,” Ravi said, removing his dirty and sweat-drenched peasant shirt, folding it neatly, and placing it on a side table, as he was used to.

  “Don’t question me, my Prince. I will always heal a person in need,” Ishwar said as he searched through his many bottles, rising on his toes a little to reach one on a high shelf. Ravi stared at the hint of his buttocks exposed. Suddenly it occurred to him that he desperately wanted to see the man without that loin cloth. As Ishwar turned back to him, a bundle of cloths and lotions in his arms, he wanted him to see him exposed too.

  “Besides, I could not let such perfect skin be marred by mosquitos,” Ishwar said, dropping the load onto the table and running a hand across Ravi’s bare arm, causing his flesh to goosepimple. Even in the dim evening light, the hut was pleasantly warm and Ravi didn’t feel uncomfortable at all sitting there shirtless. He’d never been even semi-naked outside before. But he remembered what Ishwar had said about the ward around his home. What he’d heard about entering the shaman’s hut. The ward would keep out not only insects but unwanted visitors. They could do whatever they wanted to each other, they could bare themselves fully, and only the stars would see. And they never revealed men’s secrets.

  Ishwar opened the first bottle, spread the lotion onto his fingers- as thick and dark as tree bark- and looked to Ravi again.

  “May I?”

  Ravi nodded, unsure why Ishwar wanted to ask permission when he had already consented to this month of pleasure with him. Yet charmed that he would trouble himself by asking. He watched as those hands touched the red, itchy marks marring his skin, and a moan escaped him. Not just from the relief of the itching which had been plaguing him since his journey had begun. But because Ishwar’s touch was so soft and warm. He’d almost forgotten what it was to feel another man’s touch upon him.

  With well-practised fingers, Ishwar gently and slowly rubbed more of the lot
ion onto each of Ravi’s bites. For the first time in weeks, he was truly relaxed and calm.

  “That feels so much better,” he whispered.

  “You don’t need to worry about those little insects anymore. The ward keeps them out,” Ishwar said, watching Ravi’s skin closely as he ran his fingers over it.

  “That must be why your skin is so flawless,” Ravi said, raising his hand, hesitating, then feeling Ishwar’s warm, smooth skin under his fingers.

  “Now your dhoti,” Ishwar said, drawing his fingers away and looking at Ravi’s lower half.

  Nerves now left him, Ravi slipped out of his dhoti. Ishwar waited until he had folded and placed them on the side before he resumed his treatment on Ravi’s legs, taking care of the two red rings around his ankles, which had evidently been the easiest reach for the insects. They hadn’t even done anything yet other than treatment of his bites, yet Ravi already felt aroused and lost to the man’s touch.

  His work on the bites seemingly done, Ishwar pulled back, returning to Ravi’s side with a bowl of water and a cloth, taking Ravi’s foot in his hand, and slipping off his sandals.

  “You really don’t have to-”

  “I want to. Don’t worry. I know you’ve come a long way,” Ishwar said as he proceeded to soak the rag and wash Ravi’s feet.

  He’d stopped checking on the state of his feet only a few days into his quest, fearing for the sight which his hours of daily walking had left them in. The cool water and Ishwar’s touch were welcome relief he’d forgotten he even needed. He was even willing to let him touch his feet, something he usually never even let his servants do. The act felt so intimate somehow. He couldn’t let them onto how sensitive and ticklish his feet were. Yet Ishwar barely cared as he flinched and even chuckled a little at his touch. He simply worked until he deemed Ravi’s feet clean and treated.

  He set the dirtied water aside and picked up yet another of the potions.

  “Now, please allow me to relief your tense muscles. You’ve been stressed, haven’t you?”