Steps Ahead
Fantasy short. A serving boy seduces a prince who is tired of the weight of his crown.
Rated M. 13.7k. M/M fantasy, with dark comedy throughout, and a rather fraught romance.
Prince Alexander, who hates the weight of his crown, his kingdom, and his princely identity, tries at every opportunity to escape his position, but is foiled at every turn. A serving boy named Mahon, full of helpless compassion and a certain naivety, tries his best to offer him what comfort he can.
All is not as it seems, and the two have more in common than they first thought.
Themes of parental abuse, gender and assigned role dynamics, themes of suicide, and anti-monarchist themes throughout. Please note a specific content warning for non-consensual tampering with someone’s contraceptives, in the context of a trans man.
The prince was the only son to a small kingdom.
His father was not best pleased about his being his only heir, of course, just as the prince was not best pleased about being prince. He couldn’t leave, of course. He couldn’t travel. His father was terrified he’d be injured or lost or killed…
Or, naturally, that he wouldn’t come back.
