Well, I started this a while ago. BUT, I am having a very hard time finishing it. I really need encouragement. So, if you like it, PLEASE leave a comment.

This is very roughly based on the Joseph story in the bible. But no, it is not religious. At all.

The wizard’s hand was extended towards the boy. He only needed to take that hand and he could escape his hell. He could leave. It was so easy. Freedom was right in front of him in the shape of a man with a bright smile.

Then why was the boy so hesitant? Why did this moment seem so foreboding? So wrong?

"Never trust a wizard, kid."

Isn’t that what he said? That man the boy was so desperate to see. After weeks of being locked away in some window-less room where his only visitors were the blue-eyed man and the pain, he'd give anything to see that man again.

The boy choked back a sob. He wanted to see the sky. To smell the salty sea air once again. To see his homeland.

Most of all, he wanted to see him.

Tears slowly made their way down the boy’s cheeks as he reached for the hand in front of him.

Nathan jumped up.

"Prince Nathan, wake your ass up now!” Screamed that horrid woman, Claudia.

Claudia had been Nathan’s nanny before he could even talk. She was a big part of his life. Literally. The woman was big. Not only was she wide, she also towered over most men. And she had a rather vulgar mouth. These vulgarities, however, were not to be spoken by her young ward. Nathan had the misfortune of having soap rammed down his throat after mimicking her. The fat woman honestly had no idea where he had come across such filthy words. Now, at 13, Nathan found her presence in the castle to be a nuisance of epic proportions.

Nathan groaned as he pulled the blankets off and sat on the edge of his large canopy bed. The sun was shining into his bedchambers reflecting off the many shiny trinkets that lined the shelves. Trinkets that he had collected over the years from places far and wide. He loved listening to stories about far off lands and exotic people. Books were stacked beside his bed. Books about the sea he had never seen, mountain ranges that reached far into the sky, and lawless lands infested with bandits. Nathan’s curly brown locks fell into his big brown eyes. He pushed his hair from his face and stood up right as Claudia pushed her way into his room.

”Watch it, woman! I haven’t even dressed yet!” he screamed at her.

”Oh please! You’re in your night dress. It’s not as if I haven’t seen your little wee wee before, anyway. Next time, answer me, you little jackass prince,” she said as she slapped him in the back of the head and stormed out leaving a very red-faced prince behind.

-=-=-=-=-=-

”I wish there was some way I could get rid of that woman, Vincent,” Nathan whined while he leaned against the balcony railing.

He was on the wizard’s astrological balcony. Telescopes, big and small, aimed towards constellations that disappeared from the sky with the sun’s appearance.

“Your father thought it would be, uh, beneficial if she stayed on. He wants you to receive the best. It’s no secret that he favors you more than he favors your brothers. You’re the only son of the woman he loved,” the wizard said squinting at something in the distance.

“I wish he left me alone once and a while. A nanny at my age? Who heard of such a thing? On top of that, I have a bodyguard who watches every little breath I take. And I haven’t even mentioned the amount of servants at my disposal,” the prince continued to complain.

The wizard chuckled at the spoiled prince.

“He won’t even let me go hunting with the others! Mathew was my age when he first went hunting in the forest,” the prince muttered, “It’s not like I’m delicate or anything.”

Nathan knew this to be somewhat false. He had always been sickly. He often fell into coughing fits as a child when over-exerting himself. He was small and scrawny. He was not at all like his eleven elder brothers. All of them were burly, strong men. He admired every single one of them. Especially Mathew who was five years older than he was, and much taller.

Nathan was interrupted from his thoughts when the wizard spoke.

”I have just received a message. It seems your father wants you to meet him in his private chambers. Something about a hunt,” he smiled.

The boy’s face immediately lit up as he raced to his father’s rooms.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Come, come, my dear nobleman,” Adrian said with a smirk.

The tall man’s deep blue eyes watched the target carefully as a gust of wind blew his soft black hair.

A carriage meandered its way towards the two men hiding within the shadows of the woods. This was going to be an easy job.

“Don’t get cocky like last time, you bastard,” said the man crouched next to Adrian. This man’s shirt sleeves were cut near the shoulders to reveal tattoos inked up and down his arms. His short brown hair was messy, as if he had just gotten out of bed. His brown eyes held a fierceness that could intimidate other men regardless of his slender build.

“Aren’t you being feisty today, Kyle. After we’re done with this job I plan to start another,” Adrian said as he reached for Kyle’s crotch.

Kyle quickly smacked his hand away.

”Pay attention, asshole. If we screw this up, Michael will have our dicks.”

”You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Adrian muttered.

The smaller man was about to retort when the carriage came around the corner. The two men shot into action. They pulled out two long swords and attacked the carriage. The foolish noble had only one guard. Adrian quickly took him down.

The nobleman jumped out of the carriage and ran. The driver quickly followed. They allowed the driver to flee.

Kyle stealthily blocked the young noble idiot.

”Kneel.”

The nobleman quickly dropped to his knees sobbing for his life. Adrian came up behind him and hit him in the head with a rock. The noble fell flat on his face.

”Tie him up and throw him in there,” Adrian motioned to the carriage, “We’ll get a nice little ransom for Lord Shits-Himself.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Kyle threw the noble at Michael’s feet. Still unconscious, the noble groaned.

”Wonderful. I take it this wasn’t too difficult?”

Michael was a large man. Tall and broad shouldered, his presence demanded respect. His brown hair wisped into his eyes. He had the stubble of a man who hadn’t shaved in a few days.

He is terribly handsome, thought Kyle.

“Not at all, boss! We didn’t have any trouble…” Kyle said pleasantly.

”That’s not entirely true. When I killed that guard, Kyle here almost fainted from the sight of all that blood,” Adrian teased from beside him.

Kyle was about to protest when the noble woke up. He started to struggle against his ropes. Tears slid down his cheeks.

”It must be nice to be born a rich little bastard,” Michael said as he kicked the noble in the head, sending him once again into unconsciousness.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Kyle was born a farm boy. He was raised in the middle of nowhere with four older siblings and two very old parents. Both of his parents had passed away before he was 10. His sister from then onwards raised him. She was a caring, motherly type and Kyle had adored her. In the summer of his fourteenth year, she caught pneumonia and died. Kyle, unable to deal with her death, struck out at his three brothers. The next year of his life was littered with fistfights and chaos. He had left the farm shortly afterward for the city.

For a while, he did nothing but beg on the streets. Then Michael came along. Michael was Kyle’s lifesaver. He presided over his own ragtag gang of thieves. At first, they stole valuable items from the various shops in the city and sold them for a higher price to young, foolish nobles. Sometime after Kyle came along, they started kidnapping their patrons and holding them for ransom. Now, Michael ran a well organized mob.

That was how Kyle lived his life. He wasn't entirely unhappy about it. He received clothes, food, and whatever else he could buy, with the pay Michael gave him.

What he really wanted was Michael.

Kyle was shaken from his reverie when Adrian slid into Kyle’s bed. He immediately started kissing Kyle’s neck. Kyle had long ago stopped protesting. He had almost begun enjoying these nights with Adrian. It was better than being alone.

Adrian had joined their gang only a few months after Kyle had. He was a talented swordsman. He had said that he came from the south. However, that’s all he said. It wasn’t entirely unusual for the men in their group to remain silent about their pasts. Some wanted to escape their pasts completely.

Adrian’s hand slid down Kyle’s side and steadily made its way down further. Kyle gasped when Adrian’s hand made its way under his pants and started rubbing his cock.

“I saw you looking at him again today. He only likes women. Why don’t you just give up? You know how I feel about you,” Adrian whispered softly into Kyle’s ear. His breath blew tendrils of hair on his neck.

Kyle whimpered softly as he looked out his window into the dark night illuminated by the moon.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The stable hands readied their horses. Today was going to be Nathan’s first hunt. He felt manly and held his chin up high. His brothers even convinced his father that his guard was not needed.

“Are you ready, Nathan?” asked Mathew from behind.

”Absolutely! I can’t wait! I’ve been ready for a while now,” replied Nathan with a wide grin.

It was an absolutely brilliant day. The skies were clear and the sun shone with a fierce radiance that had the six brothers shading their eyes with their hands. Only the six youngest brothers remained unmarried. The rest declined going hunting to spend time with their families and help their father with business concerning the kingdom.

They made their way towards the forest. The thick canopy overhead immediately blocked the sun. Nathan gulped as he stared into the darkness.

”Don’t worry, little brother,” Mathew said as he rustled Nathan’s hair.

"I'm not scared," Nathan replied haughtily. His brother only smiled.

They continued down a path leading them further into the ominous darkness.

Orson, a prince of 15 years, raised his bow.

”I see a deer. Up ahead. I’m going to try to get it,” he whispered.

The men watched as he silently pulled back and let loose.

”I think I got it. Nathan, why don’t you go up ahead and check it out?”

Nathan looked wide-eyed into the forest beyond. He quickly swallowed the lump in his throat as he reined his horse forward. He surveyed his surroundings. He kept imagining unseen eyes following him. He felt sick to his stomach. He couldn't let his brothers see his cowardice so he continued forward.

In a matter of minutes, he found the arrow. It had hit a tree. He turned around and was about to yell for his brothers when a big hand covered his mouth. Another hand punched him in the stomach.

Nathan clutched his stomach and started groaning as he looked around. Five men towered above him. Did they know who he was? Were they going to kill him? Nathan was terrified. He started struggling as the men bound his hands and feet with rope. They slipped a cloth in his mouth to keep him from crying out.

Nathan’s brothers appeared. He felt momentarily relieved. They would save him. Mathew would save him!

The scary men who gagged him threw a coin purse at Mathew. Mathew caught it.

Nathan made a sound, trying to get Mathew’s attention. Mathew made eye contact and quickly looked away.

”Get the little ass as far away from this kingdom as you can,” sneered Orson.

Nathan started struggling. Crying. What was going on?

The wizard’s words from yesterday morning suddenly came to mind.

“It’s no secret that he favors you more than your brothers.”

This was jealousy. He knew it in that instant. They had planned this! They convinced their father to allow Nathan to go hunting. Without a guard. His brothers hated him? His father's previous wives were all political alliances. His father finally gave into the temptation of love with Nathan's mother. He only loved Nathan more because he was the only son of that woman.

Nathan started screaming as a man swung him onto a horse. The man jumped on after him and they started off. Soon, they made their way deeper into the forest.

Nathan took one final look at Mathew. He was staring at his feet as the other brothers pat him on the shoulders as if he was some sort of hero or champion. The trees obstructed any further views of his brothers as he was lead to his new future.