Chapter Text
"Meg, I need your help," Castiel says to his servant.
"How can I help, Your Highness?"
Prince Castiel barely cracks a smile. This is stressful for the Kingdom of Heaven, but his servant girl Meg has always been one of his true friends. She has also been told thousands of times that he's not to be called anything other than Castiel, his given name- not Prince Castiel, and certainly not Your Highness. But he knows it's Meg's attempt to make him smile, so he tries.
It has been terrible in Cas' kingdom for several years. His father, King Chuck, had died when Castiel was young. His mother, Queen Naomi, ruled with an iron fist. She also was not fond of apologizing for any blunders she made, which is where the current issue came in. His mother had rudely insulted Queen Mary, of the neighboring Hunter Kingdom. King John, who was married to Queen Mary, did not take kindly to the offense. He had tried the diplomatic route first, but when Naomi refused to apologize he declared war. (Castiel was unsure what the insult was, but suffice to say they were insulted, considering the diplomatic party they had sent to Heaven was barely back in its own borders before war was declared and soldiers began marching. That was two months ago.)
The people of Heaven were not used to war. Castiel's people knew how to heal, not how to kill. There was an army, but they were not well-trained. Castiel himself had trained in both the army and by the best healers; he had become one of the best. Still, according to rumor, his own skill with a blade was nowhere close to that of the swordsmen of Hunter. His healing, however, outranked his tutors.
"I need you to help me revive Jimmy."
Jimmy is a servant boy for Castiel. He can go anywhere, knows the castle like the back of his hand, and he was the one trained in the army. Jimmy is not an Omega, something that is looked down upon in Heaven. Most importantly, Jimmy does not exist. (Truly, the only advantage of being an Omega in Heaven is that no one has seen Castiel, outside of his own family and Meg. That is how he was able to pull off Jimmy so seamlessly.)
If the Hunter army is able to breech the castle, it stands to reason that Castiel could be kidnapped and raped. He is after all the only Omega in the royal family. He has heard terrible stories of the Alphas that rule Hunter- Crown Prince Dean and his brother Sam- and he does not intend to get stuck in a political alliance sham of a marriage. As a Beta, Jimmy runs no risk of that.
Meg nods seriously before sneaking out to the clothes line for servant's clothing for him. In moments, Prince Castiel is gone, and in his place stands Jimmy. A potion is quickly downed, a personal concoction of Castiel's that ensures any with nefarious intentions (or any intentions, really) will only see a Beta. He is safer now already.
In the morning, Meg announces that Prince Castiel is indisposed. Many assume the Prince is in the throes of his Heat, including his own Mother. If she were a more involved mother, she would know it is too soon for his Heat, but she is not.
And that night, Hunter attacks.
…………………………………………………………
Castiel pulls a blade from a Hunter soldier before the man can even fall to the ground, whirling to find his next target. A burly man with a beard attacks, and Castiel parries. The man is good, Castiel is nearly matched with him. "Surrender. The Kingdom of Heaven is beaten."
"No," Castiel growls.
"Kingdom of Heaven," roars another voice. This man is tall, and if he were standing next to Castiel they may nearly be the same height. He has light sandy-brown hair, atop which sits a silver circlet. Crown Prince Dean. Castiel feels a shiver run through him at the knowledge of who this man is. If times were different, if they were not at war, he would most likely be forced to marry this man. "Your Queen has surrendered to us. Lay down your arms and you will be spared!"
The bearded man smirks at him. "Surrender. Give me your sword."
Castiel glares at the man, but hands his sword over, watching the blade to be sure it does not come back to pierce him.
"You do not have to be afraid of me now. The battle is over," the man tells him. "No one in Hunter would attack you now that you have surrendered.”
Castiel says nothing, though he never stops watching the soldier warily.
“My name is Benny. What is yours?”
“Jimmy,” Castiel answers, letting the soldier, Benny, tie his arms in front of him. The bonds are not tight, Castiel is certain he could break them if he is not being watched. Of course, with Benny standing on his right side holding onto his elbow, that is currently impossible.
“Come on, Jimmy. We are going to meet the King and his sons.”
Castiel feels shocked, he wants to stay as far away from Crown Prince Dean as possible. “Why?”
“Now that Heaven has been defeated, you will need to swear your fealty to King John and his sons, Crown Prince Dean and Prince Sam.”
Castiel is guided toward the King and his sons. King John is watching impassively over everyone, as is Prince Dean. Prince Sam, a ridiculously tall Alpha who is also wearing a silver crown, looks excited to see all the prisoners coming in. He is smiling brightly at them, reaching out to introduce himself to all of the prisoners being guarded in. “Hello! I am Prince Sam!”
“Are they not afraid to let him shake their hands?” Castiel asks Benny quietly. “Someone might hurt him.”
“Prince Sam is special. He can see a bit into their futures. His gifts work better by touching them. He is ensuring no one has nefarious intentions.”
“Oh,” Castiel says weakly. He watches as Prince Dean leaves his father’s side and comes down toward his brother, saying something to him. Prince Sam laughs and shoves his brother before he reaches for the hand of the prisoner in front of Castiel. And then it’s Castiel’s turn.
“Hello! I am Prince Sam!” the young man says, reaching a hand toward Castiel. Castiel shakes back dutifully. “Oh!” Prince Sam exclaims. He turns toward his brother with a smile. “This one has been trained in the Heaven army. He is one of the best. You need to bring him in. You will need him.”
Green eyes appraise Castiel, raking him up and down. “I will need him?” Prince Dean echoes.
“Yes. He has also been trained as a healer, though best not to let Father know that,” Prince Sam says so quietly that only Castiel, Dean, and Benny can hear. He pastes back on the bright smile before he adds, "You and I are going to be very good friends. I will come find you later." He walks on, leaving Castiel standing there blinking stupidly.
"Is he always like that?" Castiel asks.
"Yes," Dean answers. He stares at Castiel longer, before finally reaching out and taking Castiel's bound hands in his own. "I can take him, Benny."
"Oh no, there is no need to inconvenience you, Prince Dean. I will remain with Benny."
Dean turns towards him, fire in his eyes. "That is odd. I thought I had given an order. Do servants in Heaven counter their Royals' orders so flagrantly?"
Jimmy tips his head to the side, instinctive surrender to the Crown Prince's anger. It is nothing a Beta servant would not do to appease an angry Royal, though Castiel does feel it perhaps a bit more than a Beta would, in spite of the concoction he took. "Apologies, Your Highness. There were certain royals in the castle who allowed me to speak my mind."
"You were a manservant to one of the royals?"
"Yes," Castiel lies. "Prince Castiel."
"Ah. The Omega Prince."
"Indeed."
"Is he still in the castle?"
"He fled. Days ago," Castiel says, lest Dean try to order him to find him.
Dean grins outright at the news. "Wonderful! Speaks well to his intelligence, of course, and it will get us both out of the castle."
"Beg pardon?"
"Come now, you are a servant to my elusive husband-to-be. My father intends for he and I to be married, to show Heaven they are completely defeated. I will be taking you with me to find him."
"And if I refuse?"
"Jimmy, my father is not a kind man. You are better off with me, especially when my father discovers you are Castiel's servant."
"They do not say kind things about you either, Prince Dean. Why would I turn my charge over to you?"
He tips his neck to the side just slightly again, expecting the prince's anger. The reaction he gets shocks him. Crown Prince Dean laughs, throwing back his head. He has a nice laugh.
"By God, Jimmy, you should not turn him over to me."