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"So, foul fiend, you dare to face me again? I assure you, my brother and I are still ready to see you put in your place!" Theseus postured for the crowd just as he always did. The cheers were oddly immaterial, as if they came from a great distance, though the watching crowd of shades was right there.

Zagreus rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, blood spilled, death, back whence I came, I get the picture by now. It's getting very tiresome."

Theseus laughed, and gave Zagreus a broad grin. "You tire of death, demon? Surely you should delight in it!"

That was barely worth dignifying with a response, but Zagreus couldn't resist a sarcastic, "You sure have me all figured out."

With a snort, Theseus said, "What is there to know, fiend? But here, if you don't wish to shed your blood, why not make a wager with me? I will swear to yield if you have me at a disadvantage if you do the same." Theseus gave Zagreus a very strange, almost leering smile. "Then whichever of us is victor will serve the other for a night and a day. What say you?"

Zagreus lifted his eyebrows. That was new. "Ah... I really don't need a servant. Prince of hell, you know, if I wanted one, I'm sure I could find one."

"Perhaps another prize then? Come, wager with me, creature of the pit! This endless repetition grows boring, let us add some new stakes to our combat!"

"Brother," broke in Asterius, "you are seeking trouble again."

"I am seeking what I always seek, victory and glory! So, fiend, what boon would you ask if you should somehow gain victory?" That odd leer was still on his face. Zagreus decided he didn't like it. But then he'd decided he didn't like Theseus after about three seconds' acquaintance.

"I merely want to get to the other side of the door there," said Zagreus. "I'm just as happy to kill you to do it, truly."

"But are you happy to die, foul villain? I will swear to leave you alive, win or lose, if you take my wager."

Zagreus rolled his eyes again. "Oh very well, I suppose I could skip the dying this time."

"Swear then." Theseus' gaze sharpened, and he said, "Swear by Nyx."

Zagreus blinked at his opponent. That was an oath that he couldn't lightly break. "Ah..."

"Or are you without honor entirely?"

"Oh, for Hades' sake. Let's get this farce over with. I swear by Nyx that I'll yield if you swear by your own puffed-up honor to do the same."

"And swear that you will pay your forfeit and serve me a night and a day if you lose."

"Yes, yes, I swear. By Nyx." Zagreus drew his sword. "Now swear your half and let's get this over with."

"I swear to yield and let you pass should you gain the upper hand, by my honor. Now, foul creature of the pit, have at you!" Theseus brandished his spear, and with a feeling of resignation Zagreus moved to meet him, keeping one eye peeled for the minotaur Asterius, who was circling, axe at the ready. It really was deeply unfair that he had to fight both champions together. He'd beaten the pair once, only to immediately perish in the maze-like chambers of the Temple of Styx above, but they'd had the victory enough times he had lost count. So it seemed a light enough thing to swear a day's servitude rather than fight his way back up here yet again.

The combat began as it usually did, in a back and forth flurry where Zagreus spent more time dodging than attacking. Outnumbered as he was, focusing solely on offense would get him in trouble. Never striking the enemy would merely draw the battle out forever, though, so Zagreus kept his eyes open for any chance to attack. He thought he found one, and dashed forward, striking under Theseus' guard, knocking the spear upward. Theseus managed to spin aside, though, and Zagreus found himself over-extended. Yet Theseus couldn't quite bring his massive weapon around in time, so for an instant Zagreus thought he would escape.

Then with a shock he felt something cold and sharp against the back of his neck, and went utterly still. All the gods damn it, he'd lost track of Asterius.

"Yield as you've sworn, short one," rumbled the minotaur, "or I will make you shorter by the height of a head."

"Okay, okay, I yield!" said Zagreus, letting his sword's point fall.

"Another victory for Theseus!" crowed the Elysian champion. Asterius, who'd thankfully lowered his axe, snorted from where he still stood behind Zagreus, and Zagreus found himself wondering how the minotaur put up with Theseus. For that matter, how was he going to put up with an entire twenty-four hours stuck serving that arrogant prick? It was no doubt going to be pure, humiliating torture.

But, on the other hand, it would still probably beat having to climb up out of that pool of blood and be mocked by his father yet again.

****

Theseus proved to have a suite of luxurious rooms attached to the arena, because of course he did. Zagreus trailed behind him into the suite, feeling a certain nervous tension, but also sure he could manage whatever he'd be asked to do.

"First, I need to wash the sweat of battle off, and you, my fiendish servant, reek of the brimstone of Tartarus. To the bath."

The bathing chamber was, of course, also luxurious, with a pool almost big enough for a public bath, and several elaborately decorated amphorae lined up beside it. There was no visible source of heat, but the water filling the blue-and-gold tiled pool steamed faintly all the same. No doubt it drew heat from down in Asphodel or something.

Theseus immediately, unselfconciously, began stripping off his clothing. Zagreus hesitated briefly. He knew perfectly well about the custom of public baths, but as a prince he'd always been able to bathe privately. With a shrug, though, he started removing his own clothing as well. He was hardly going to make himself look the fool by acting afraid of a little nudity. To be honest, Theseus wasn't bad to look at, as he stepped down into the warm water. The muscles of a warrior combined with the leanness of eternal youth, a build not entirely dissimilar to Zagreus' own, but ever so slightly taller, and perhaps a fraction leaner.

As Zagreus let the last bit of clothing fall to lie beside the pool, he saw that Theseus was looking him up and down too, and the corner of his mouth curled up in a smile that had a bit of that leer to it. Zagreus frowned. He still didn't like that look much. In fact he liked it even less under these circumstances than he had before the fight.

Still, he had to admit that Theseus was right about reeking of brimstone, so he might as well have a bath. He stepped into the warm water, a faint hiss of steam flashing up as he left a flaming footprint on the pool's rim, then settled himself, sitting on the floor of the pool, which was just deep enough to let the water cover him to the neck. He ducked his head under, letting the water rinse the sweat from his hair, and rose with a sigh. Theseus was already leaning back against the pool's edge, eyes closed, soaking. Zagreus did the same on the other side, enjoying the relaxation after his long exertions. Maybe his forfeit would be pleasant after all.

Eventually, when Zagreus was well relaxed, to the point of being half asleep, Theseus rose. He picked up an ornate bronze scraper and held it out to Zagreus. "Here, servant. Dry me."

"What, are your hands broken that you can't do it yourself?" Zagreus grinned, unable to help himself. He knew perfectly well that inability wasn't why Theseus had given that order, but he'd never been good at holding his tongue, at least not in cases like this. Secrets he could keep, but the urge to sarcasm, that was harder to hold in.

Theseus scowled. "You swore, fiend."

"Of course, forgive me," said Zagreus, giving a nod. Though he was still grinning as he climbed out of the water and took the scraper. He ran the polished edge of it over Theseus' body, scraping the water from him. He couldn't help but admire that taut, chiseled form as he did. Theseus might be an utter bastard, but he was undeniably a *handsome* bastard.

When he'd tried Theseus off, Zagreus scraped down his own skin as well, but he'd barely finished when he was interrupted by Theseus, whose voice was demanding as he stood beside a now-open amphora. "Come here, now, and anoint me."

"Feeling the need for a god's blessing, hmm?"

Theseus gave Zagreus a look that would have curdled milk, but only beckoned imperiously and said, "Now, fiend."

"Very well." Zagreus went to the amphora and dipped his fingers into the oil within, finding that it was scented with spices, because of course it was. He gave a shrug and began spreading it over Theseus' skin.

"Rub it in well, demon," Said Theseus. Zagreus managed to hold himself to only an eye-roll, but did as ordered, massaging the oil into Theseus' skin as he worked his way down from the champion's neck and shoulders, over arms and torso. He rubbed down the outside of Theseus' legs, and when the hero put his feet a little further apart, up the inside as well, trying to not stare at what was now directly at eye level, since he had to kneel to reach. Finally he worked down to Theseus' feet, feeling strange as he crouched in front of the one who had, in fact, vanquished him repeatedly. It was on one level humiliating, and yet there was something almost freeing about it. Just now quest and princedom and all else were of no particular matter, after all. All those burdens were to be set aside for a day's span, since for now he was a servant, like any of the servants in his father's house.

It was an odd thought, truly. He didn't expect he'd like being a servant if that was his entire lot in life, but as a break from the grim, nearly desperate task he was about, well, something about it was rather nice.

Then Theseus said, "You missed something, fiend."

Zagreus stared up at him, shocked out of his musings. "What?!"

"I desire for you to anoint *all* of me, not missing an inch. You know perfectly well what you have skipped over."

"Seriously?" Zagreus felt himself flushing. "So what, you need your ass oiled?"

Theseus smirked down at him. "Yes, and not only that."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

"I assure you that I am not. So. Complete your task, servant."

"Er. Right, okay." Zagreus had no idea how to feel about this. He *had* just been thinking that Theseus was handsome, and it was true he'd never shied away from bedding men, but he'd also never bedded one as odious as Theseus. Not to mention that since he was playing the servant's part at the moment, that made him something of a bottom. Princes topped. Properly masculine men topped. That was the way of things. He couldn't picture himself as womanly. But oh hell, he'd sworn an oath he wasn't going to break, so what else was he going to do?

With his cheeks still flaming, he got more oil, and knelt again behind Theseus, oiling his backside. Theseus let out a satisfied sigh as Zagreus massaged his muscular ass, which made the prince's flush deepen.

Then he had to move around to finish, and he couldn't avoid looking at Theseus' cock any longer. It was ordinary enough. Average, even. Not the boyishly delicate type idolized by artists nor the massively hung sort he knew certain people desired, it was just a cock like any other, hanging flaccid above an also perfectly ordinary set of balls.

"Go on," said Theseus, and that leer was back.

Feeling as though he were scarlet to his toes, Zagreus began spreading scented oil on Theseus's cock. He was ginger at first, but Theseus cleared his throat pointedly, and Zagreus swallowed and rubbed the slick stuff in more firmly.

The task was uncomfortable, but he had to admit it wasn't *entirely* unpleasant. He rather liked cocks. They tended to be his favorite part of bedding a man, besides the actual act itself. Playing with one was always pleasing. And yet until now he had always been the one in charge, the one dictating what was done, the one choosing how and where to touch. It felt almost frightening, being on the other side of that.

What else was he to do, though? To forswear an oath to Nyx was out of the question.

So he stroked and caressed Theseus until every bit of the other man had oil rubbed onto it, and the cock he'd so attended to was hard and hot in his hand.

"Very good...eventually," said Theseus, as Zagreus finally completed his task. He reached down and patted Zagreus on the head.

"Hey! I said I'd be your servant, not your dog!"

Theseus only laughed. "If you wish to oil yourself, proceed. Otherwise we can go dress."

"I'm good. Lead on, boss."

Theseus grinned and led the way out of the bathing room into a bedroom, where a large wardrobe stood. He flung it open and pulled out a richly embroidered robe of blue and gold, donning that himself. Then, positively smirking, he pulled out a bare scrap of cloth and handed it to Zagreus. "Here."

Zagreus unfolded it to find a scanty loincloth, which was at least not blue and gold--it was red, which suited him on that front, but on the subject of fronts, that was all its single flap would cover, and not very well at that. He gave Theseus an incredulous look.

"Put it on, fiend." The leer was back as Theseus looked at Zagreus' crotch. "Or go naked, if you prefer."

"I don't prefer, no," said Zagreus. He tied the absurd thing on, but didn't feel much more clothed for it.

"Now, one more thing." Theseus crossed to a trunk, which seemed full of random bric-a-brac, and pulled out a pair of objects, golden-sheened bronze, which sparkled with dark flecks of magic. He held them out to Zagreus, who saw they were a pair of wrist-bands. "Here, put these on too, demon. I don't think I can trust a hellspawn such as you otherwise."

"I swore an oath," said Zagreus, scowling at the bands.

"You swore to serve me, but that's all you swore. So I must insist, for my own safety."

Zagreus turned his scowl on Theseus. "You want me to put on some utterly unknown bit of magic?"

"And how many other unknown bits of magic have you picked up while wandering hell, demon? I'll swear that I'll remove them once your service is done, if you like."

Zagreus sighed. He was in this to see it through. There was no point in making Theseus swear endless oaths. "Oh, never mind." He snatched the bands out of Theseus' hands and snapped them on his wrists. The magic flared, and when it faded back to faint sparks they were each a single, solid piece. Because of course they were.

"Now what, oh glorious master?" said Zagreus, scowling.

Theseus gave him a sidelong look. "You can continue to call me master if you like, fiend."

"I might consider it if you knocked off the whole 'fiend, hellspawn, creature of the pit' business."

"Very well." Theseus grinned. "I shall."

"Er..." That was not at all how Zagreus had expected that exchange to go.

"Come along now." Theseus led the way out of his bedroom, through a central atrium, and into another room which almost made Zagreus laugh out loud when he saw it.

It was a throne room. His own father didn't have a throne room! But of course Theseus would have one. He was indeed a king, but still... Gods above, what an ego!

Theseus draped himself comfortably across the throne, then pointed to the dais, directly in front of him. "Stand right here," Theseus smirked broadly and added, "...slave."

"You know, on second thought I think I prefer fiend," said Zagreus, but he stepped up onto the dais and stood in front of the throne.

"Now, kneel, slave."

"I am pretty sure I agreed to servitude, not slavery, your ego-ship," said Zagreus, aware there was a bite in his voice, and also unfortunately aware there was a knot of fear in his gut.

"If it's merely for a day, is there a difference?" said Theseus. "Either way, I am your master, and I am ordering you to kneel. So on your knees, now."

"You are really pushing the limits of this servant business," said Zagreus, but he knelt in front of the throne all the same.

"Servants obey their masters," was Theseus' smirking reply. "And good servants generally don't talk back nearly so much."

"Hey, I swore to serve you, but I never swore to be good at it." Zagreus grinned at that.

Theseus snorted. "I think your mouth needs something else to occupy it, brat." He straightened on the throne, and undid the tie that held his robe closed.

"...oh, hell no."

Theseus' eyes narrowed. "Servants. Obey. Their masters."

Zagreus swallowed hard and looked at Theseus' now-exposed cock. "Ah..."

"Come now, you know what I want. I shouldn't need to spell it out. But if you truly are that stupid; your bratty mouth needs to have my cock in it, right now."

"R-right." Hell. Zagreus shouldn't be fascinated by the half-hard member, or curious about how it would taste. Cocks were meant to be something he toyed with before taking his pleasure, not something he serviced. But... He swallowed again, his heart racing, and felt a twitch from his own cock. And he'd sworn an oath.

Slowly he moved forward, Theseus spreading his legs to make room. Zagreus curled his hand around Theseus' cock, then bent his head over the other man's lap and took the already-hardening shaft between his lips.

"Ahhh, much better." Theseus leaned back with a sigh of satisfaction as Zagreus started to go down on him.

Zagreus made a tiny, involuntary sound, half whimper, half moan, as he tasted Theseus. The champion king tasted of olive oil, spice, and musk, and something in that made Zagreus' cock twitch again. He pressed his tongue against Theseus' cock, holding the head in his mouth, giving himself over to the experience. The tension went out of him, and when Theseus put his hand on the back of Zagreus' head and pushed, urging him down, he only moaned and sank down deeper.

With Theseus working his fingers through Zagreus' hair, he continued to go lower, taking more and more of the other man's cock until it pressed at the back of his throat. He shuddered, gagging, but also feeling a thrill, because he'd taken it all, his nose just touching Theseus' belly.

Theseus gave a gentle tug on Zagreus' hair, guiding him to pull back, and Zagreus did so willingly, then just as willingly dove back down as the direction of Theseus' guidance changed. "Very good," the champion murmured. Zagreus let out another soft, near-whimper to hear it. Somewhere inside him some tiny fragment of resistance protested that he didn't want to be good at this, but the rest of him reveled in the praise, in the feel of Theseus' hand holding his hair, in the taste and scent of the other man's cock, which overwhelmed his senses.

Zagreus was fully hard himself by now, but he was hardly aware of that. All his attention was focused on his task. He put everything he had into working back and forth, running his tongue along Theseus' cock, trying not to gag when it pushed in deep, seeking to give Theseus every bit of pleasure that he could.

"Mmm." Theseus wasn't terribly vocal, but he made the occasional pleased, satisfied sound as Zagreus worked on him.

Zagreus might have made more sounds, but his mouth was very occupied, so the occasional muffled moan or whimper was all he managed. He had sunk fully into the experience, and felt he could continue forever, simply existing in this moment, working back and forth on Theseus' cock for as long as it took. Suddenly, though, Theseus brought up his other hand, gripping a handful of Zagreus' hair beside the other, and held Zagreus down, no longer letting him pull back. Zagreus shuddered, completely choked, Theseus' cock just long enough to cut off his breath. He squirmed, struggling instinctively, hands catching the edge of the throne, then shuddered again as Theseus murmured a word just on the edge of hearing and he felt his hands jerked behind him, the magical cuffs showing their purpose by pulling themselves together behind his back.

His eyes rolled back, his whole being suddenly in conflict between pleasure and panic. Theseus' cock filling his mouth was still amazing, yet he couldn't breathe, couldn't fight, could do nothing but stay where he was as Theseus kept his head forced down as far as possible.

Then he felt the cock that so wonderfully and terribly filled him twitch and pulse as Theseus began to come. Bitter-salt cum, thick and choking, flooded his mouth, and most of it went directly down his throat, so he had no choice but to swallow it. Spurt after spurt of it pumped into him, and as it went on and on the world began to go gray, his vision hazing over from lack of air. That small bit of him that wasn't lost in it all wondered what it would say on Hypos' list if he died like this. Hopefully nothing embarrassing.

Then it was over and Theseus let him up. Zagreus pulled back desperately and nearly fell over backwards, but didn't care about looking undignified, all he knew was the blessed breath of air he was finally able to gasp in.

He knelt, chest heaving, body trembling, the taste of Theseus' seed on his tongue and his hands still bound behind his back, and didn't know whether to be pleased at his success or shamed to have ended up in this position in the first place.

Theseus, meanwhile, reached out and stroked Zagreus' hair for a time as he caught his breath. Then his hand slid down under Zagreus' chin and urged him to tip his head back. Zagreus' mis-matched eyes met Theseus' intense blue, seeing pleasure and satisfaction there.

"Well, it seems the brat can be a good servant after all." Theseus smirked at Zagreus once more. "I'm glad I made my wager, little prince of hell. Very glad indeed. The rest of this night and day are going to be most pleasant for me. I do hope you enjoy them too."