Chapter Text
Once upon a time in a far off castle, there lived a prince who had everything he could want. Yet he wasn’t happy, big surprise there. Isn’t that always the case? So one day, fed up with his son’s whining about being bored and lonely, or whatever he had to complain about, his father the king made a royal decree. It stated that every eligible maiden in the land was to attend a royal ball. At the end of which the prince would choose his bride.
Of course things weren’t as simple as all that. You see the word maiden didn’t quite mean the same thing as what I’m sure you’re all familiar with. A maiden was not just a young girl of marrying age. No, a maiden was what those posh snobs referred to as an omega. Now to be fair they usually were young girls, many of which were ready for marriage. But there were also male omegas, or what some would consider the real prizes of the kingdom. To take an omega as your bride was an honour in itself. To take a male omega, something already rare and highly coveted, was something else. Something more. No one knew why, but they rarely produced a beta. It was always a strong, powerful alpha, or a beautifully submissive omega. They produced quality and quantity, something their kingdom desperately needed after the war.
Oh right, you’ve probably never been told about the war have you? Well in my opinion it was pointless. Apparently the eldest prince got a little frisky with another kingdom’s princess. Enough so that she ended up with a child, his child, or so she claimed. Naturally their parents tried to force them to marry, for fear of starting a war. Only, it turned out he hadn’t been her only lover. He found out, words were said and war was declared. Must have been some pretty harsh words. But what’s just so stupid about all this, is that she went and slept with one of her servants, blamed the prince for their bastard and then when she was found out, she still tried to blame him anyway. This I why I don’t like girls. They’re just so fucking infuriating. Well that and they don’t have the parts I like.
I’m getting off topic a little aren’t I? Sorry.
So the kingdom went to war, a completely pointless war that I damn well hope that bitch got what was coming to her, but a war nonetheless. Many died, including my parents. Hence the whole me not liking her, or royalty in general quite frankly. Anyway the war lasted a good ten years, long enough for the princess to grow older and in my personal opinion, stupider. I feel sorry for that child of hers. Sorry, sorry. I’ll be good I swear. So yeah, ten years passed and many people died. Many good people I should say.
Of course the royal family survived with every last one of them intact. As if they’d ever be allowed to die. The eldest prince went on to marry a beautiful omega, a male omega mind you. Now him I like. But for everyone else, well they weren’t so lucky.
My parents for instance, or rather my father. My mother had died in childbirth, all because that stupid ignoramus of a doctor insisted her birthing pains were all in her pretty little head. Yes he actually used the term pretty little head. If I’d been older at the time, there’d be a good chance he’d be practicing without that stupid little head of his. Which one, well I haven’t quite decided yet. Maybe both if I’m honest. As for my father, thanks to that stupid little bint refusing to keep her legs shut, he ended up being forced to serve in the king’s army. I mean literally forced; they dragged him away if I recall correctly. Something about too few volunteers, although by now the war had been going on for many years. It was little wonder they were struggling to find people stupid enough to fight for an even stupider cause.
So I ended up in the orphanage for a time. I was only five at the time, still so shy and weak. But thankfully I wasn’t much of a target for the older kids. No they had their fun humiliating whatever hapless omega had happened to go into heat that day. What did they care about some kid when a barely legal girl suddenly bent over and presented then and there.
Of course the staff did their best to try and stop it from happening. They’d take away anyone they suspected of going into heat, supposedly to allow them to suffer through it in private. As though we all weren’t aware that many of those girls failed to ever return. Or that said girls could be found years later, a babe clutched to their breast, toddlers crawling around their feet and some lecherous old man with his arm tight around their waist. At least, that’s what one of the older kids told me. But then there were those times were the staff got there just a little too late. Where one of the alphas had given into the urge to breed the omega, right there and then, where all their friends could watch. Of course as nature commanded it, this usually resulted in a child. But the alpha rarely claimed the child as their own, not if they wanted to get anywhere in society. There may have been a war on, but social standing was still vital to survival, especially for an orphan. No one wanted the scandal of having some bastard running around. Especially when they were a bastard themselves.
As for the girl, they were usually thrown onto the streets, left for any alpha to have a go at them. The child, if it survived, was almost always taken in by the orphanage. There were many rich couples willing to pay for a babe of their own. Of course there were those rare times when both alpha and omega defied society. Where they’d leave together, find a home and create their own little family. The perfect fairy tale ending. The chances of this actually happening were almost zero, but still they told it to us every night. It was a nice bedtime story at any rate.
Fortunately for me, I didn’t stay long, although the memories stuck with me to this day. Some distant uncle of mine, I never did find out how we were related exactly, took me into his home. That’s where I met them, my cousins. Let’s just say…we don’t get along. You know I’m amazed anyone can get along with them, come to think of it. Well perhaps I should explain.
Now my uncle is a strict man. He made it clear when I first arrived that I had to earn my keep, from the very moment I stepped through the door. Since I was so small I was given the smallest bedroom they had, not much bigger than a matchbox if I’m honest. But I as just glad I wasn’t sent to the attic; just thinking about all those stairs was enough to exhaust me. I knew from the moment I arrived that he only accepted me because it was his duty. That society would have looked down on him if he did otherwise. My cousins on the other hand had no problem in declaring their dislike for me.
Christian, the eldest at ten, always loved to try and make me cry. Now I’m proud to say that unless he tried inflicting serious physical damage on me, I never did cry. Like his mother he had fair blonde hair, complimenting beautifully with his father’s piercing blue eyes. It wasn’t surprising that he was an alpha; he certainly had the personality for it. Cruel with a vicious streak a mile long, he loved to see me suffer. I never quite knew why, I was nothing compared to him. Yet still he persisted in tormenting me.
Then there was Annaliese, she was eight. As her name might suggest, she was daddy’s little princess. Spoiled rotten, but man could she scream if things didn’t go her way. With her blonde hair carefully styled in beautiful ringlets, she looked very much like one of those china dolls she so often carried. Now her face, she was obviously her mother’s daughter; with a pointed chin, delicate nose and fine facial structure, although clearly softened with a hint of baby fat that still clung to her cheeks. Her eyes though, they were entirely her father’s. Like me, she too was an omega, although she was clearly wanted whereas I wasn’t. When we first met, strangely enough she seemed to take a shine to me. Probably because I was the only one who let her dress me up, as though I were a doll. We were almost friends when we were younger. Of course as soon as she got to that age, all she talked about were alphas, clothes and marriage to the prince.
Finally there was Caleb, just a year older than me. Privately I believed he was the best their family had to offer. He had his mother’s dark brown hair and green eyes. Like emeralds they were, at least that’s what everyone told me. I didn’t actually know what emeralds were for a long time, when I found out years later, I have to say I was a little disappointed. His eyes were pretty yes, but they were no emeralds.
Now when I was younger, me and Caleb had an agreement of sorts, I did what he wanted and he didn’t beat me up. Not that he’d ever risk it himself. For he too was a male omega, he couldn’t be seen doing something as common as beating up a servant. Because that’s what I was, a servant; I never bothered to pretend I was a part of their family. As an omega, one that was actually wanted mind you, Caleb wasn’t allowed to play with alphas. Well he could with his brother, but Christian was ten, what did he want a six year old following him around for? So his uncle made us play together. Two male omegas; one dressed in finery, the other in rags. We must have made the strangest sight for any nobleman who happened to visit.
Spending so much time together, although very little of it was actually wanted, meant we almost became friends. But I knew better than to believe it so. I may have been young but I was smarter than most liked to pretend I was. Caleb was actually quite kind to me. He knew from his father that I no longer had a mother or a father. Having lost his own mother, I suppose he must have pitied me a little. At least he had a father, something he’d remind me of whenever we had a fight. Of course I was always blamed if that were to ever occur. Heaven forbid Caleb be in trouble for anything. But although he had his moments, he was probably the closest thing I had to a real friend. How depressing.
Now when we were younger, my cousins and I generally got along. I did my best to avoid Christian like the plague, let Annaliese dress me up in whatever frilly concoction she’d pulled from her wardrobe and listened to Caleb’s moaning about what it was like to be a male omega. As much as I wanted to, I never told him just how much worse things could be for him. That would have just been stupid and I wasn’t stupid. No matter what Christian said. As we grew older, things changed. I was made to move up to the attic as soon as uncle felt I was old enough to walk up and down all those stairs and still have energy to complete my chores. Naturally my list of chores grew longer as well. Instead of merely sweeping and dusting, the two were frightfully dull but at least they were easy, I was to mop the floors and scrub the stairs. I had to bring in the eggs and fetch the milk, help the gardener pull up the vegetables, help cook in the kitchen and of course do the laundry. I hated doing the laundry most of all.
Truthfully I didn’t have much to complain about. Uncle had employed a large number of staff to keep the household running smoothly. But still, as a child without any real family to call my own, I couldn’t help but resent my cousins for having everything without having to do anything for it. Of course I never complained to anyone, unless I was having trouble carrying out the task due to its weight or such. But that was more about me not crippling myself. I may not have had much of a future to look forward to, but I still wanted there to be a future. Even if it was as a servant in my uncle’s home. Anything was better than going to the orphanage, absolutely anything. Unfortunately Christian became aware of that and he had no qualms about using that place as a threat to keep me quiet. To be honest I didn’t see the point, by then I rarely ever spoke. I had no reason to.
While I knew I had little chance of finding a future for myself, at least on outside of my uncle’s home, his children had no such troubles. Naturally Christian grew to become a strong, handsome alpha much like his father. Unfortunately his attitude had changed little over the years. He still enjoyed ridiculing me, tripping me up and so on. He was easily the biggest pain in the ass I had to deal with, but at least I knew how to handle him now. You see Christian craved attention, he absolutely loved it when brainless omegas would fawn over him, gushing about his wealth, his power and late at night, his cock. It wasn’t surprising to learn he’d already fucked his way through most of the high society omegas. I didn’t dare think what would happen to them should their parents find out, society was pretty obsessed with the idea of omegas remaining pure until marriage. Rumour had it he’d gotten more than a few pregnant, but luckily for him, the omegas couldn’t be trusted when he suggested he wasn’t the only one they’d bedded.
Sleep with an alpha before marriage, that was bad enough. But to end up pregnant with no means to prove the babe’s parentage, that was just disastrous. Naturally Christian took full advantage of that little loophole. I always knew he was scum.
As for Annaliese, well she hadn’t ended up pregnant, at least not yet. No she was saving herself for the prince, or so she bragged to her vapid friends. To be fair she had grown into a beautiful young lady. At fifteen she’d featured in many a young alpha’s dream; her ample bust, carefully enhanced by a plunging neckline and corset, carefully painted pouty lips, glossy hair styled in the latest fashions and of course her expensive dresses. She was the poster child for what an omega of high breeding should look like. In public she looked like a doll, dressed in frills and ribbons that highlighted her supposed innocence. But in private she wasn’t nearly so sweet and innocent as she seemed. While she had yet to take an alpha’s knot, unlike some of her friends, she’d certainly done everything else. I can’t tell you the number of times I found one of her pretty lace gloves, covered in a familiar sticky substance. Or the times she forced me to help her cover up a bite mark on her neck from a particularly amorous alpha. Why she asked me I still don’t know, but I suppose she knew I wouldn’t say anything. I couldn’t risk being thrown out should uncle accuse me of lying.
Personality wise, Annaliese had changed quite a bit from her days of dressing me up like a doll and treating me almost as though I were human. She had become just as shallow, vain and egotistic as those silly little friends of hers. Utterly obsessed with the idea of becoming a princess, a title she felt the world owed her, she did her best to make all the servants’ lives miserable. Giving orders then changing her mind without telling a soul, breaking her things and blaming us so that the rest of the staff had their wages docked; I never got wages myself, and of course smuggling strange alphas into her room while her father was away at the palace. I hated those times the most as it was almost always my job to smuggle them back out again in the dead of night. Not that we were ever caught, but I was terrified the stench of horny alpha would cling to me. God forbid anyone scented a strange alpha on me. Annaliese was lucky, she had a multitude of suppressors and perfumes designed to cover the scent. I didn’t and should anyone have found out, I would have been kicked out.
Starting to understand why I don’t like females?
Finally there was Caleb. Sweet little Caleb that everyone liked. Don’t get me wrong I could at least tolerate him; we were both male omegas and as such we knew the burdens we shared. Like heats, I swear they’re the most infuriating things you’ll ever have to experience. But I digress.
Now Caleb had of course grown to be beautiful. While not as masculine as his brother for obvious reasons, his body was surprisingly muscular. Although with the clothes he wore and submissive personality, you wouldn’t have guessed. It was quite a contrast to me; despite my chores and such I had never really put on muscles. But I was strong; it was a small comfort. But Caleb needed no small comforts, for in society eye’s he was close to perfect. Should he have a child on the way he would be, but of course at thirteen he was still a little young.
Unlike his siblings, Caleb could almost pass as a decent human being. He of course had his moments of cruelty, though I wasn’t always the recipient for a change, but on the whole he was polite, sometimes kind and usually too wrapped up in his own affairs to bother trying to make everyone else’s lives difficult. I can’t tell you how much of a relief that was.
I suppose that just leaves me. I’d like to think I haven’t changed too much. I rarely speak, keep my head down and haven’t had a haircut it god knows how long. But I kind of like it long, it’s easier to hide behind. You see compared to my cousins, each beautiful and highly desired, I’d consider myself the ugly one of the group. Not to say I’m ugly per se, I’m just me. Just Phoenix. I’m too skinny, too quiet and too smart to let myself believe I’ll ever be anything more. But I will say there’s one thing I like about me and that’s my eyes. While my memories of my parents are tattered at best, I always remember a portrait my father showed me of my mother. Her eyes were like mine, pure amber. In the right light they almost glow like fire, I suppose that’s why they called me Phoenix.
They say a Phoenix will rise from the ashes, from the very cinders of the fire. That they will be reborn from an old life and succeed in the next. Well I suppose you could say I was reborn when my parents died, that I succeeded in surviving within that dreadful orphanage and later within my uncle’s household. But can I really succeed any more than that? It’s times like this I wish my parents had named me something else, something that could predict the future like a genie. Wait…do genie’s predict the future? No, they grant wishes don’t they…I don’t know. Still it would be nice to know my future. To see if things could ever change. Could I ever succeed in leaving my uncle’s home? I’d certainly like to.
Little did I know I would soon be succeeding in a big way. But not everyone would be too happy about that. When were they ever?