#implied anyhow

“Now, little clown boy.”

Blitzo stared up at the king that had made the deal with his father. An aura of pure magic oozed from him, thickening the air in a way that crackled Blitzo’s skin as he shifted between his feet while trying to stay still to quell the churning in his guts. He nodded up at the… man? It seemed to be one, but he also rippled on the edges, form not quite steady as if his body would warp like paper under the sun.

“Yes?”

“You have been chosen as a spouse for one of my sons. How lucky for you!” He circled Blitzo, whose head spun to try and follow him. It barely seemed like he had feet to take steps with underneath the cloak, moving as smoothly as a boat through water or a dancer over a stage. “Of course, you will do whatever he wishes of you- and whatever the Goetia family wishes of you.” He reached down and Blitzo yelped without thinking as he was pulled up into the air with one hand, legs kicking.

“H-hey!”

“Oh, don’t whine, I’m just inspecting the goods.” The king’s thumb slid under Blitzo’s shirt, pushing it up to expose the slightly-soft stomach underneath. Blitzo knew he had a little bit of muscle from his chores and from practicing with the acrobats, but changing in the same room as the other kids didn’t feel in the same universe as a royal running a razor-sharp finger over his skin, especially when that finger was nearly as long as his entire torso.

“I- you-” The words didn’t come out properly, and a flick of the king’s other hand sealed his mouth entirely, magic keeping his lips pinned together as he pressed the pad of his thumb down in a way that might have been ticklish if it didn’t have Blitz squirming from how wrongwrongwrongwrong the touch was. He prodded at the stomach (which was gurgling, queasy and on the edge of bringing up the lunch he’d been given before visiting) and at his hips before the claw slid up to his heart, beating faster than the horses at full gallop.

The king flipped him over, but the finger running up his back was quicker- which was lucky, given that looking directly down at the hard marble that could crack his skull had Blitzo squirming.

“Hmm. Well, it certainly could be worse. We’ll make do with you, although we’ll have to get you some better clothes, of course.” He set Blitzo down on the floor. “The engagement has been set. And just to make sure that you and that father of yours don’t get any funny ideas…” He snapped his fingers, and a weight settled around Blitzo’s neck. “There we go!”

Blitzo’s hands flew up to his neck. He wasn’t able to see whatever it was, but he could feel it- a metal collar woven with fancy lines on the sides, complete with some kind of charm embedded into the center that had a design engraved into it. Running his fingertips around the edge revealed that there were no clasps or notches. It wasn’t coming off.

“What’s this?”

“Questions, questions, questions. Children have so many of them.” The king flicked his forehead, and Blitz only barely kept himself from stepping back, biting back the growl in his throat. “I don’t trust a couple of imps to not pawn off a royal engagement ring, so that is going to be yours until you and Stolas are officially wed, and it is decorated with Stolas’s sigil to mark you as his. It only comes off with my magic, so don’t even try, I’d rather you not saw your own head off after I went to all this effort.” He clapped his hands. “Now then! Go and get acquainted with Stolas, and we’ll all be just dandy.”

Blitzo nodded, and the king leaned forward a little. “Oh, and just to make sure that we are all crystal clear- you belong to us. You listen to Stolas, and more importantly, you listen to me. You are here to give us lost magic, and if you cause any troubles past that…”

Magic oozed from him like when oil leaked into the water down in Greed, slick and beautiful but very, very poisonous, and Blitzo got the picture. He nodded again before he was ushered out.