Karkat paced in his room anxiously. Tonight was the night his fate would be decided, the night he found out if he was to be first in line for the crown. There was a soft rap at his door. He stopped his fervent foot movements momentarily as he answered. "What? Who is it?" he asked gruffly and rather loudly.

"Sire..." Karkat recognized his personal knight, Equius. He began pacing again.

"Yes? What is it Equius?" He sighed loudly. He could hear Equius move as he shuffled his feet. "Speak up damnit, or are you just going to stand there all night like a lumbering oaf?" He snapped when his guard and friend did not respond quickly enough.

"Ah, sire, may I come in?" Equius asked quickly so as to not anger Karkat further. Karkat stared at the door before sitting down on his bed, trying to look regal, or at least not as shit as he felt. "Alright enter." Equius entered the room swiftly, closing the door behind him. He had little armor on, just for his shoulder and to hold on a deep blue cape, and underneath he wore his ceremonial clothing for the auspicious occasion. The garb was a deep indigo, like his cape, with single black sash to tie his clothing together at the waist. He had gold trim along his both his upper and lower cuffs, and on the high, tight collar of his tunic. Karkat decided to look away so he would not stare. It was a tightly kept secret that he fancied his personal guard.

He did not look back as he again questioned Equius. "Well? Why did you come in here? To stare at me and sweat, or did you have an actual purpose?"

Equius was not sweating at that moment but he began to perspire lightly at the mention of his uncomfortable and awkward habit. "Sire, have you been pacing?" He asked after a moment. Karkat looked up at him sharply.

"I haven't and how many times do I have to fucking tell you to call me Karkat?" He retorted in response. Karkat looked away quickly, Equius could always tell when he was lying. It was just easier if he could see his eyes.

Equius frowned. "It would be out of line for me to do such a thing. You could possibly be the next in line for the thrown, the future king. I wouldn't dare-" He began, without sensing Karkat's distress.

"I don't want to hear about it! I know that already you huge idiot!" Karkat snapped loudly. He glared at the ground, following a swirling pattern on the carpet. Equius seemed to catch on then, inhaling softly.

"Could it be, sire, that you are nervous?" Equius asked, taking a step closer. Karkat decided to ignore him and his questions, choosing to instead admire the fabric of his ceremonial cape with one hand. The edging was soft and white, while the rest was as red as a rose. He admired his shoes as well, they'd been polished just an hour ago but already scuff marks could be seen from his constant walking around.

From the way he was acting, and his silence, Equius could tell that it was truly nervousness that was causing his mood. While it wasn't in his duties to befriend his charge, he had. His feelings were more than just a knight to his prince, he truly loved Karkat, but admitting so would be far out of line for someone of his status. He could still comfort the prince however, and so he tried. "Sire, if I'm not being presumptuous, such nervousness is normal. If you do not get chosen, you will have to remain a prince until you marry into another kingdom and become their king. That is quite a big responsibility."

Karkat stood, evidently needing to pace more than he wanted to remain composed. "I don't want to speak about marriage... I don't want to be king either, of any kingdom!" He confessed, running a hand through his messy hair, avoiding his stubby horns. Equius's eyes widened.

"You do not wish to be king? I don't understand..." Equius said almost breathlessly. "To be king is the greatest honor you could wish for, the greatest title you could obtain."

Karkat stopped paced to stand right in front of Equius, glaring up at him. "But do you know the resbonsibilities that come with being king? The people I have to please? The amount of pressure that would be on me. I would have to sire children, to continue my line!" He snarled before spinning and continuing his route along the floor. "I can't be king, I won't!" He through his arms in the air.

Though the thought of Karkat siring children brought a tight knot into his chest, Equius still believed it was for his benefit. "Do you not want to continue your line? Find a prince or princess who could please you and ease your stress?" Karkat stopped pacing suddenly.

"Is that really what you want?" He said, voice low, back turned. "You would have me in the arms of a stranger, letting them do whatever the fuck they please with me? With my body? I thought your job was to protect me." He said harshly, a bite to his words.

Equius immediately dropped to one knee. "It is my one purpose in life sire." Karkat spun and took quick steps to stand before him. His emotions were getting the better of him, and at this point he really should have just dismissed Equius and calmed down, but with all the talk about marriage and having children, he was getting really pissed off. And when Karkat was pissed off, he was too peeved to care about things such as embarrassment or regret.

"Alright fine, if I am to be a king, I should get some fucking practice in. And you're going to help me, because you seem so keen to have me stuck with a dumbass royal idiot from another land. Now I'm going to give you some orders, and as your king you are to obey me." Karkat growled, staring down at Equius. "Now rise."

Equius rose without hesitation. "Follow me." Karkat said before swerving around Equius and sitting on his bed. Equius followed, standing before him. This situation seemed strange to him, and he was worried about what Karkat was planning.

Karkat looked him up and down. "Alright...Take off your armor." He ordered, crossing his arms and legs.

Equius blanched. "Sire I cannot-" Karkat interrupted him swiftly.

"That shoulder piece is only for decoration, it wouldn't be much help in an actual attack anyway idiot, now take the fucking armor off." His foot wagged in the air as he watched Equius comply, settling his armor and the cape to one side. Equius felt naked without any armor, even with the two layers on his upper half.

Equius stood there awkwardly in front of his prince as he looked at him. "Sire I...I believe I may require a towel. This situation has caused me to perspire more than comfortable for appearing before the court."

Karkat nodded as if he were listening. "I need you to be completely honest with me now. After tonight, whether I am to be the future king or not, are you comfortable with me marrying and having illicit relations with another troll?"

Equius was quiet for a while. "Sire, it's not proper of me to-" He finally started to say. Karkat growled loudly, struck his arm out in a flash and punched Equius in the chest.

The punch did little more than surprise Equius and hurt Karkat's hand. "I didn't ask what was proper I order you to tell me the truth." He snarled angrily. If Equius didn't care, then he would just send him away, but Karkat still held onto some hope that maybe he did. They'd been together for so long, they shared so much. He knew they had slowly become friends, but lately that wasn't enough. Ever since he'd realized his feelings it had become harder and harder to keep calm around his friend.

Equius tried to keep himself calm. "Sire I...regarding my feelings toward a union between you and another troll...my feelings are not positive." He finally mangaged to say. He dropped to one knee immediately. "I'm sorry sire, I am being terribly improper."

Karkat didn't say anything, couldn't say anything. He looked down at his knight and lifted his head with a foot. "Yes...But that's not so bad. Rise." Equius looked up at him cautiously. He rose slowly until he was once again standing before his prince.

"Now I suppose it's my turn to be honest. Because honestly the thought of taking anyone but you to bed makes me want to throw up repeatedly until my guts are on the floor with whatever food I've eaten." Karkat said bluntly. It took Equius a moment to realize what he'd said but when he did it was evident on his face. He opened his mouth and closed it, unsure of what to say. Karkat moved back on the bed so he was almost lying on it. He couldn't stop now, not after learning Equius's feelings. Perhaps his previous statement could have been interpretted differently, but Equius's expression had said it all. He looked right in his guard's face. "Come here."

Equius was extremely conflicted. His duty, or his dignity. In the end he gave in and follwed him, crawling between his open legs. "Sire, I-"

"Karkat, you are going to call me by my name." Karkat interrupted him again, sitting up and grabbing Equius's arms, stabbing his fingernails at the fabric to show how sharp they were. "If you don't call me by my name I will rip through your sleeves down to your skin and scratch you down to your elbows." Equius swallowed, becoming more excited with Karkat's threats.

"Karkat, we should not be doing this, if anyone were to come in...we need to be ready for the ceremony." Equius said breathlessly. Karkat just moved back on the bed, reaching his pillows. He removed his crown and set it to one side, beckoning Equius to follow. He complied and crawled onto the bed on his knees.

Karkat sighed. "It's just for a bit. It will calm me down considerably." He looked at Equius levely, waiting. "Would you fucking do something." Equius snapped out of whatever trance he'd been in and cracked a small smile. Karkat watched him as he brought up his hands and grabbed the edges on Karkat's tunic. He played with the fabric, pushing them up some and revealing Karkat's thighs. He moved forward on his knees, forcing Karkat's legs to open further. Even the prince was beginning to lose his composure. Equius leaned down and pressed his lips softly against Karkat's, trying to be gentle. Karkat grabbed his collar and pulled him back roughly, kissing him hard. He bit at Equius's lower lip, drawing blood.

"Ah, si...Karkat, please." Equius pulled back, licking at his blue blood. "That's not going to heal in time for the ceremony." Karkat scowled at him as if he were stupid.

"Do I look like I give a flying fuck?" He leaned foreward and gave Equius's chin a lick. "Wow, you're sweating quite a bit." He smiled teasingly. Equius pushed him down onto the bed, trying to be as gentle as possible but still forcing him down easily.

"Teasing is below someone of your status." Equius said softly before running his hand down Karkat's side. He kissed him again, and ran a hand up his leg to his inner thigh. Karkat gasped, wrapping his legs around Equius's waist.

"If you stop now I'll fucking cull you." Karkat growled, slipping his index fingers under the black sash holding Equius's tunic on and pulling himself closer so that they were flush against each other. Equius ran his hand up under his tunic and stroked Karkat's side. It was the prince's turn to make a move, and he quickly shoved a hand under Equius's shirt, not taking care to be gentle as he knew he wouldn't be able to do much harm to the knight, and rubbed up his back before removing his hand. He pulled down Equius's high collar to bite him, drawing blood.

"Sire, stop this is-" Equius tried to pull back but Karkat was holding tight to his shoulders and pressing his nails into the flesh there.

Karkat growled at him. "I said to use my name, and I can feel your bulge, you don't even want to fucking stop. Don't say you don't. Don't you fucking lie to me." He reached down and fondled the large bulge in Equius's pants. Equius grabbed his wrist and pulled it away. Karkat cried out in pain and surprise. Equius released him immediately, startled.

"Karkat, are you alright? I apologize, I did not hold back my strength." He again tried to pull away, but this time it wasn't Karkat's claws that stopped him, it was his soft embrace.

"No, I'm fine, see?" He squeezed Equius's shoulder, though it hurt him to do so he wouldn't admit it. "You think you're so strong, and too much for anyone to handle, but I'm fine." He laughed, trying to sound nonchalant. Equius returned his affection, gently putting his arms around Karkat's waist. They stayed like that until there was a knock at the door. A spindly voice called through it.

"Uh, Sire! The ceremony is about to begin! I think that maybe, uh, you should be going down soon?" The voice said. Karkat groaned angrily.

"This is just my fucking luck. Ever since I ran into that stupid fortune teller. I've had the worse luck." Karkat bemoaned as he pulled back from Equius, untangling his legs. "We'll have to continue this later then..." He scooted off the bed, adjusting his tunic and putting his crown back on. Karkat turned to Equius when he did not follow him off the bed.

"Sire-" Equius began, but was cut off by a sharp glance from his prince. "Karkat," He tried again, more successfully. "I will always be by your side...no matter the outcome of tonight's ceremony." Karkat nodded at him, sensing his seriousness. He turned around so he wasn't facing the knight any longer and cracked a smile.

"Well, that's super comforting Equius. But I hope you don't mean to always be my knight... After all, if I am to be king, I have the authority and the right to pick any troll I want to marry." With that he walked swiftly to the door and opened it. Equius was off the bed in the blink of an eye and was putting his armor on swiftly. Karkat glanced at him as he joined him on his right-hand side. "And I did mean that when I said we'd continue. That's an order do you understand?"

Equius nodded and Karkat thought he saw a smile before his knight resumed his poker face and they slowly made their way down to the grand hall. Karkat's worries were significantly lessened. After all, he would have Equius at his side forever; he would be fine.