Angels and Princes 1/?
Title: Angels and Princes 1/?
Rating: PG
Pairing and Characters: Dean, Castiel, Sam, Bobby, John, Jo, Garth (eventually Dean/Cas)
Spoilers: None- AU
Warnings: None I can think of
Word Count: ~3,500 (this chapter)
Summary: Castiel is a Nephilim living in the kingdom of Lawrence. King John has outlawed celestials and driven them out of Lawrence. Castiel has been sent to live with family friend Bobby who works for the royal family. He must hide his abilities while dealing with the oldest prince, Dean, after a chance meeting.
Notes: This is basically a parody of the Merlin world, with some Supernatural changes.
Castiel has always known that he was different. For as long as he can remember he has been able to do things that wouldn’t be considered normal. It wasn’t until he was twelve and used his powers and accidently injured another boy who was bullying him, that his mother told him the truth. Castiel’s father had been an angel. Apparently, that was why he had been assumed dead. He had to return to Heaven.
For days Castiel refused to believe the new information. Celestials and Nephilim were known but the current king, John, had had them driven out of his kingdom or executed if they didn’t leave peacefully. Castiel and his mother lived on the outskirts of John’s rule and were able to avoid the genocide that occurred when Castiel was a toddler. His father had left by then anyway.
His mother died when he was nineteen. She had given him a note seconds before her eyes closed for the last time. Castiel had held his mother close and tried to bring her back. He prayed and mustered everything inside him to revive the only family he had ever known. It was no use. What good was he? What good were his powers if he couldn’t save his family?
He read the note after his mother’s funeral. She had written about how much Castiel meant to her and for him to go into Lawrence to find a man named Bobby, who worked for the king. She said he would take care of him and make sure he would be safe.
Castiel figured he had nothing left to lose and packed up what few possessions he had and started the walk into the city. He walked through the courtyard, admiring some of the small shops and trading tents. As he ascended the stone stairs into the castle, he saw the king walking through the courtyard with a tall boy with shaggy brown hair. They seemed to be in a heated discussion. The clothing made Castiel believe that it had to be the king’s youngest son, Sam.
After asking a guard where he could find this Bobby person, Castiel found himself in a small house inside the castle. It was filled from floor to ceiling with books and jars containing a mixture of ingredients. “Hello?” Castiel didn’t see any evidence that Bobby was home.
He dropped his bag on the small wooden table near the door and read the spines of the books at eye level along the nearby wall. Bobby was the physician for Lawrence, but mainly for the royal family. King John and his two sons, Dean and Sam, were meant to be his main concern, along with the guards and servants the royals depended on.
The sound of the door opening made Castiel jump. He turned to see an older, balding man with a gruff expression enter and stop when he saw Castiel. “Who are you?”
The rough voice put Castiel on edge. This was a friend of his mother, someone she trusted to keep him safe? “Um, my name is Castiel. You knew my mother?” Bobby’s eyes shifted as he thought back. Recognition hit his face and immediately softened his features.
“Of course, Castiel. They told me you were coming.” He took a few steps closer to get a good look at Castiel. “I just wasn’t expecting you yet.”
Castiel pulled out the letter he had in his jacket and held it out for Bobby. “My mom gave this to me to give to you.” Bobby read over the letter quickly and Castiel saw his face soften more and tears formed in his eyes. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as Castiel had thought.
Bobby nodded and folded the letter back up. “Right.” He pointed to a door across the room. “Your room is in there and you’ll be helping me with my work.” Bobby gave him a once over and smiled. “Starting tomorrow of course. I’ll give you today to adjust and learn your way around. Just try not to make any trouble.”
“Why would I make trouble?”
Bobby smiled again. “If you’re anything like what I remember of your mother, you’re very good at making trouble.”
Bobby gave him a nod and walked off to find a book he needed for an illness he was treating in the court. Castiel put his bag in the modest room. It was small, but more of a house and elaborate than what he had before.
Castiel wandered around the inner courtyard and soon found himself close to where the knights practiced. A small group of them were doing just that when Castiel walked by. Two knights were sparring while the third was practicing his archery. The sun peaked through the clouds as the archer released his arrow. He almost missed the target completely. He let out a frustrated sound. “Garth!”
A scrawny boy dressed similar to Castiel jumped and ran to stand in front of the irritated knight. “Yes sir?”
Castiel watched as the knight drew himself up to full height that was a little bit taller than Castiel. His light brown hair shuffled lightly in the breeze as he put on a cruel smile. “Are you intentionally trying to blind me Garth, or are you too stupid to realize you put my target in the line of the sun?”
“I’m sorry.” Garth kept his head down as the knight leaned over him. “I’ll fix it right away sir.”
“Good.” The knight stepped back and nodded. He then turned to the two sparing knights and told them something Castiel couldn’t hear. The three of them smiled and laughed. As Garth was moving with the target, Dean set up his bow and lined up a shot. Garth was about to set the target up when the arrow was released and hit the target, nearly knocking the small boy over.
The three knights laughed as Garth popped his head over the target. “Okay, real funny.” Garth was about the move when the bow came up again.
“How fast are you Garth?” The knight smiled at the scared look in Garth’s eyes. He released the arrow and Garth ducked below the target. The arrow hit the stone wall where Garth had been seconds before. The knights laughed again. He shot off a couple more arrows as the servant cowered behind the target.
Castiel was beginning to get annoyed at the knight’s bullying behavior. He knew what it was like to be in Garth’s position. He saw Garth get fed up and try to make a run for it right before the knight released another arrow. Time seemed to slow as Castiel saw Garth knock the target loose in his attempt to scramble away, causing his only protection to roll out from behind him and sending the arrow shooting straight for him.
With a flare of power and grace within him, Castiel sent the arrow down into the dirt a good foot short of where the target had been. Everyone stopped as the round wooden target rolled straight for Castiel. Garth looked back in shock at the fallen arrow while the knight looked in confusion. Castiel picked up the wooden target as it rolled to a stop at his feet.
Castiel walked toward the small group of men he already disliked. “I think you’ve made your point.” Castiel dropped the target at the feet of the archer, who squinted his green eyes.
“And what point is that?”
“That you’re a big tough knight. We all get it.” He looked back at Garth as he stood, still looking at the arrow in the grass. “You almost killed him. There’s no reason to be such a dick.” He heard a couple gasps and noises around him from a small crowd that had gathered. The knight raised his eyebrows and stepped closer to Castiel.
“You want to take his place?”
Castiel didn’t look away or back down. “Maybe, as long as I got half a chance to defend myself.”
The other man laughed and looked him up and down. “How would you? I think I have a bit of an advantage.”
Castiel smiled. “You don’t know anything about me.”
The knight stretched out his arms and stepped back. “Show me than. What have you got?” He gave Castiel a look of complete amusement. He had no idea what Castiel could really do to him. But Castiel also knew what would happen to him if he flaunted his abilities. “That’s what I thought.” The knight smirked and looked at the target. “Pick that up for me.”
Castiel narrowed his eyes. “Get it yourself.”
“Excuse me?”
“Pick it up yourself.” Castiel was no one’s servant.
“I wasn’t asking.”
“I don’t care. Who do you think you are?”
The knight stepped forward and grabbed the front of Castiel’s worn shirt, pulling him closer. “Pick up the target. Now.”
Castiel could tell that this guy wasn’t used to hearing ‘no’ from anyone. He kept his eyes on him in defiance. The knight could see he wouldn’t get what he wanted from Castiel. He let him go but stayed close. “You’re just looking for trouble aren’t you?”
Castiel curled his fists in irritation. If he wasn’t careful, he could hurt this guy without meaning to. “Back away from me.”
The knight smiled. “What are you gonna do?” Without thinking, Castiel’s hand pulled back for a hit when the knight grabbed him and flipped him around while pinning his arms behind him. In his new position, Castiel could see the crowd watching. He hadn’t noticed how many people there really were. “You know,” he had leaned in over his back to speak low in his ear, “I’ve put people in jail for less than that.”
Castiel fought against the other man’s hold. “You really think you’re special don’t you?”
“Yeah I do.” His grip tightened on Castiel’s wrists. “I’m the king’s son: Dean.” Castiel closed his eyes. He would be that lucky.
The guards threw Castiel into the small cell with rough hands. The tiny stone room was cold and empty, but Castiel didn’t mind too much. He had picked a fight with the prince. Bobby was right, he couldn’t stay away from trouble. After a couple hours, he had moved to the floor and hoped for a little sleep.
Heavy footsteps and distant voices made Castiel sit up. He looked out the bars from where he was and saw the other Winchester who had been in the courtyard earlier with a small blonde girl standing beside him. He guessed she was a servant by her clothing.
“You can let him out.”
“I’m gonna need authorization from the king for that.”
Sam smiled. “I thought you would say that.” He handed the lone guard a slip of paper.
After reading the note over, the guard nodded. “Okay, let me get the key.” The guard walked off.
Sam and the girl walked up to the cell door. “Hi, I’m Sam.” He gave a small smile. “I would like to apologize on behalf of my brother.”
Castiel smiled. “Thanks. Is he always so charming?”
Sam laughed. “Yeah, basically. He’s a real jerk.” He glanced at the girl standing beside him. “He has a way of making everyone upset.” The guard came back and unlocked the cell. Castiel stood and walked to the door.
“Thank you.”
“No problem. What’s your name?”
“Castiel.”
“You’re staying with Bobby right?”
“How did you know that?”
Sam shrugged. “Bobby happened to be in the room when Dean came back in a huff about some blue eyed servant who tried to pick a fight. Bobby figured it out.”
“He’ll be delightful when I get back.”
“Yeah, I’d watch my back.” Sam nodded and turned away. The girl put a hand on his arm.
“Sam, do you need anything else tonight?”
“No, thanks,” Sam smiled at the girl, “you can go. I’m sure your mom is waiting for you.” Sam walked down the hall. The girl stayed back.
“You’re going back to Bobby’s?” Castiel nodded. “I could walk with you. If you want some company.”
“Sure.” They walked together back through the castle.
“My name’s Joanna, Jo.”
“You’re Sam’s servant?”
“Yeah, well not his only one. He has another one to help with clothing and stuff since it would be inappropriate for me.”
“He seems nice.”
“He is.” Her face lit up with a smile. “He’s a lot different than Dean. I mean, Dean can be nice too but you have to kind of get past his outer shell first. John puts a lot of pressure on him. He will be the king one day after all.” She was babbling but Castiel didn’t mind. He wanted to learn more about the family.
Castiel entered Bobby’s warily, waiting for the explosion. He didn’t wait long. “Can you tell me exactly how much of an idgit you really are?” Bobby met Castiel near the table. “Didn’t I tell you to stay out of trouble? How does going after Dean Winchester sound like no trouble?”
“I didn’t know who he was.”
“He was obviously a knight though wasn’t he?” Castiel nodded. “To stay out of trouble, just don’t listen to whatever he says and keep walking when you see him.”
“He almost killed one of the servants Bobby. What was I supposed to do?”
“I’m assuming you saved him right?” Castiel looked at the floor. “You need to be careful with those powers boy.”
Castiel looked up in surprise. “You know?”
“Of course I do. You just better hope no one else finds out. They’ll burn you alive.”
“I understand Bobby. I just couldn’t help it.”
“You got Dean all riled up too.” Bobby chuckled. “I’ve never seen him get so upset.” “Go get some sleep.”
Castiel nodded, “Goodnight.”
“Night.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Castiel managed to avoid any trouble for the next few days, but he wasn’t lucky enough to stay away forever. He was in the market looking for a few ingredients for Bobby when he heard a familiar voice. He looked to see Dean with a couple friends. Dean was wearing a couple pieces of armor, probably having come from practice, and was laughing. From his current position, Castiel could see how some people thought Dean was approachable. The sunlight made his brown hair look almost highlighted and his wide smile looked relaxed and carefree, until he caught sight of Castiel. Dean smirked and led his friends over to where Castiel was standing.
“Well, look who it is.” Dean stopped in front of Castiel and crossed his arms. “Mr. Hero himself.”
“I don’t want any trouble.” Castiel wanted to keep his eyes down but ended up staring the prince down.
“Of course not.” He glanced back to his friends. “You still think you can take me on?”
Castiel knew what he should have said, what he should have done, but he was no coward. “I do.”
Dean smiled and shook his head. He handed Castiel a sword. “Let’s go.” Dean raised his own sword. For a moment, they watched each other. Castiel had never fought with a sword before and Dean could see it. “Come on.” Dean tapped his sword against Castiel’s.
He was painfully aware of how unprotected he was. One hit from Dean could seriously hurt him, if not kill. Castiel swung the sword around and had it immediately knocked out of his loose grip. Dean advanced on him with a smile. Castiel stumbled back into a shop, civilians ran out of the way. Dean sliced through the air. Castiel ducked and rolled behind the counter.
He heard the laughter of the knights in the doorway. Castiel peaked above the counter and saw Dean looking back and laughing with them. He used the opportunity to send a crate by his feet into Dean’s chest. Dean stumbled back and coughed from the assault. Castiel ran out to through the back door of the shop.
Dean growled and followed. Castiel waited outside the doorway. When Dean showed outside, Castiel knocked him off his feet and slid the sword out of reach. Dean quickly stood up and grabbed Castiel by his shirt. With little effort, he flipped the lithe man into the shop wall. Castiel kicked and collided with Dean’s shin. His grip loosened enough that Castiel was mostly free when a fist hit his ribcage. He had made him mad now. Dean pinned Castiel to the wall.
There was no way out and Dean was much stronger than Castiel. With a gut kick of grace, Castiel hit Dean with a piece of wood lying on the street behind them. Dean let go and turned to see who had hit him. Castiel was about to run but stopped short when Dean grabbed the back of his collar. Castiel turned with a fist up and landed a hit across Dean’s face. He recovered quickly and pushed Castiel to the ground.
The arrival of his friends made Dean stop. He looked down at Castiel with annoyed eyes and extended a hand for him. Castiel looked at it with suspicion before taking it and being pulled to his feet. “Well, you’re a brave moron I’ll give you that.” He picked up his sword and left with his friends.
Castiel brushed himself off and went about buying what he needed and getting back to Bobby’s. He walked in slowly, feeling sharp pains in his ribs. He dropped the bag of items on the table, hoping to get to his room without problem.
“So, how’d it go?” Bobby seemed to appear out of nowhere.
“Fine.” Castiel let out a short cough. “Everything was fine.”
“Uh-huh.” Bobby could tell something was off. “So no problems?”
“Nope.”
“Funny, ‘cause I heard about a little scuffle in the market between Dean and some stranger.”
“Really?” Castiel coughed lightly. “Dean must really enjoy fighting.” He tried to smile casually but could tell he failed.
“You got any serious injuries?”
Castiel didn’t bother asking how he knew. “I don’t think so. Just a little sore.”
“Idjit. There’s a feast tonight. I’ll need your help.” Bobby sat at the table. “Think you can handle that without going after Dean?” Castiel nodded. “Good.”
A few hours later, Castiel was helping Bobby serve while watching the upper class folks socialize and drink. Sam was speaking with a blonde girl who looked about his age and Dean was talking closely with the king. Castiel smiled when he saw a small bruise on Dean’s cheek from where Castiel had landed a hit.
Not long after, John got the attention of the room and called for a toast. Dean and Sam stood beside their father. Castiel hadn’t heard what was said, a high, shrill sound pained him as the king spoke. He looked around the packed room for the source of the sound. Nobody else seemed to hear it, except Dean, who was shaking his head slightly.
Movement caught his eye. Castiel saw a woman step forward and raise her hand. Light sparkled as a metal blade peaked out of her hand. She threw something in Dean’s direction. Time seemed to slow, like before, as a knife soared straight for Dean. The next instant, Castiel was standing beside the prince. He took hold of Dean’s cloak and flipped him out of the line of fire. A sharp pain split through his arm as the knife meant for Dean cut through Castiel and both men fell to the ground.
“Dean!” Sam ran over to check his brother.
“Seize her!” John pointed at the red haired woman who threw the knife. The guards rushed forward, but with the sound of flapping wings the woman was gone.
Castiel felt blood running through his fingers. He looked at Dean as Sam stood him up. He was looking back like he was seeing Castiel for the first time. Bobby knelt beside Castiel. “Let me see it.” Bobby ripped his sleeve open and looked at the cut. It was deep but nothing too bad. Bobby wrapped it and sat Castiel up.
“You saved my son’s life.” John looked at Castiel with relief in his eyes.
“No, I…”
“No, you did.” Dean was still staring at Castiel as Sam tried to talk to him. “You must be repaid.”
“Really, it’s okay.” Castiel stood with Bobby’s help.
“I insist.” John stepped forward and shook Castiel’s hand. He looked between Dean and Castiel. “You will be Dean’s personal servant.”
Dean’s head whipped around. “What? Dad.” John walked off to talk to the guards. Dean looked at Castiel again and sighed.
“Come on.” Bobby ushered Castiel out of the room. “I should get a better look at that arm.”
Bobby stitched up his arm and put some ointment on it. “What kind of reward is being Dean’s personal whipping boy?”
“It’s considered an honor to serve royalty.”
“Well someone else can have the honor.” Castiel sat up and slipped on a new shirt.
“I know how you saved Dean.” Castiel froze. “You got over there pretty fast, faster than normal people could have.”
“Bobby…”
He raised his hands. “I ain’t sayin you were wrong to do so. I’m just letting you know that I know. Maybe you’re supposed to protect him.” Castiel looked doubtful. “Celestials were here to protect certain people in the past. Maybe Dean is someone you’re meant to look after.”
“As his slave?”
“Servant. There is a difference.”
“Not much of one.” Castiel stood up. He was ready for a night’s rest. His royal service would have to start in the morning. He just hoped he didn’t feel the urge to kill Dean too often.
Next chapter