Chapter Text
“We must make a bloody example of these treacherous Gelfling,” the Ritual Master said.
“And of the Chamberlain!" the General added with a smirk, and skekZok agreed with him more than ever. For too long, skekSil had gotten away with everything. For too long, he'd been able to get away with it, dodging like a locksnake. And the priest has long wanted payback for what has happened to his face centuries ago...
And so, the Chamberlain appeared. Stopping in the middle of the throne room, he began to talk. Talk, talk and talk. Turning the situation in his favour. And the more he talked, the paler skekTek turned.
SkekTek... their relationship had been developing all these trine, but it had remained secret. There were romantic dates, and long nights full of vivid sensations... And they used the ritual knife too.
When the Scientist told everyone that it was because of the Chamberlain that the Gelfling escaped with the vial of essence, it seemed to skekZok that everything went well. The Emperor didn't dismiss skekTek's complaint: it seemed that even he was fed up with the Chamberlain.
But everything went wrong. And the worm stood there and twisted himself out of it. Once again.
“The vial was clearly the Scientist's responsibility,” the skekSo finally concluded.
“But, Emperor-“ skekTek began, but was interrupted.
“He must be punished!" the Emperor ignored the Scientist's attempt to justify himself. His scepter clanked once on the floor, as it did when skekSo announced his will.
The Skeksis began to offer punishments. Light ones, more just humiliating than traumatising. But suddenly...
“No. The Scientist's errors require a more permanent discipline," the Emperor objected to the Gourmand and the General.
“You speak truth, Emperor," the Chamberlain squinted slyly. “But Scientist is still Skeksis, yes? Perhaps Scientists would most benefit seeing… peeper beetle.”
SkekZok went cold. Peeper beetle was his most adored of the Five Ocular Castigation, though it had only been used once – on the Slave Master, but... not on the Scientist, oh absolutely not! SkekZok never wanted to see his beloved going through such ordeal. And skekSil... this rat was now trying to do to skekTek what he had once done to him...
“What an excellent suggestion!” the Emperor approved.
“I object,” skekZok said, and the throne room fell silent. Everyone in the room turned to look at him in bewilderment. SkekTek looked at him with desperate hope. “Sire,” the Ritual Master stepped forward. The expression on the Emperor's face did not change. “This is not quite the appropriate punishment for such a wrongdoing,” skekZok's wording was deliberately streamlined. He knew how skekSil liked to cling to words. Who, by the way, was glaring at him right now. “According to the law, peeper beetle can only be applied to those who have previously been seen encroaching on the highest authority. But skekTek is not skekNa. He is not a renegade. We must be lenient with him.”
“He let traitor Rian escape – what is that if not an attempt on the highest authority, mmm?” the Chamberlain interjected, staring at skekZok unblinkingly.
“Your preaching, Ritual Master,” the Emperor shifted his bored look to his right hand, studying the rings on his elegant fingers. “Does not interest me in the slightest. Everything has already been decided, there will be punishment. So, unless you have something else to say, and unless…" the ice-blue eyes stopped on the priest again, and the mouth with its rows of outer teeth contorted into a mocking sneer. “You want to take the punishment in the Scientist's place, you have nothing to offer.”
SkekTek lowered his gaze to the floor at those words and slouched down harder. He didn't want to look at SkekZok. He stood up for him, but... Who in their right mind would even want to lose an eye for him? He didn't dare even hope for that. He didn't dare and he had no right. If the Ritual Master backed down now - and he would, the Scientist would certainly understand...
“If this is the Crystal's will, do be it,” the priest said firmly, and his voice did not waver.
SkekTek stared at SkekZok with wide-open eyes. The rest of the Skeksis stared at him, equally shocked. SkekSo, still sitting on his throne, leaned forward slightly. SkekVar snorted sullenly, crossing his arms over his chest. SkekSil stretched his mouth in an even wider smile, it seemed like just a little more and his face would crack.
“Mmm, how noble of you, Ritual Master!” exclaimed the Chamberlain. “And considering your...” he pointed at his face snidely. “Condition, yes?”
SkekZok gave him a glare of annihilation, but remained silent. SkekTek gave a barely audible hiss. If it were up to him, he'd throw himself at the Chamberlain right now and scratch his eyes out. But... the Scientist shifted his concerned gaze back to the Ritual Master. He wasn't looking in his direction. He was looking at the Emperor. Who finally spoke.
“I knew you had a thing for pain, skekZok, but this much... So much so that the last time wasn't enough for you... I have to admit, I'm impressed,” there was a sneer in his ice-blue eyes. “Well, go prepare yourself,” he said with a wave of his hand. “The punishment will take place tonight. Don't be late,” he grinned. A few chuckles echoed through the hall.
The priest bowed silently, then headed away from the throne room with a straight back. After he left, the Skeksis seemed to lose interest in what had happened: a satisfied Chamberlain went to provoke the General, and their hissing at each other quickly became the new main entertainment. The Scientist hurried away as quietly as possible.
A few minutes later, he caught up with the Ritual Master in the corridors. Noticing skekTek, skekZok stopped and turned to him as if nothing had happened.
“You imbecile!” shouted the Scientist. He was shaking. “Imbecile and a half-wit! Why?! I didn't ask you to! Now they will... They will...” tears welled up in his eyes, and he took the Ritual Master's hand in his own, kissing the back of the it. “How will you be without an eye...? Forgive me, oh please, forgive me, skekZok!”
SkekTek felt himself being gently pulled closer, wrapped in an embrace. A moment later, he was crying into the richly embroidered golden robes.
“You didn't ask for it, but you needed it. Don't blame yourself, it was not your fault,” skekZok spoke monotonously and in a lower than usual voice. The Scientist had long known this trick of his: skekZok used this when he wanted to calm the listener down or lull their vigilance. If one let him speak in this tone for long enough, one could enter a trance. “You need your eyes for your work. Don't worry about me,” he smiled sadly. “I have always loved pain.”
“For your work.” For work, yes... skekTek pressed himself harder against the priest.
“I will make you the most beautiful golden prosthetic, I swear. It will see as clearly as a real eye,” the Scientist said firmly. He had already decided that after the ritual and the treatment of the wound, he would go to the Ornamentalist and would not leave until he had the best design skekEkt could make.
“No doubt,” skekZok put his fingers behind skekTek's chin and gently lifted his face. Their gazes met. “You are very talented, after all,” he said, not a shadow of mockery in his bright blue eyes.
“SkekSil... that rat... That...” the Scientist swore in Podling, then suddenly wiped the last of his tears away with his sleeve. “How about I inject you with painkillers before your punishment? Would you like that? Ah wait, why do I ask… I will do it, and that's final. Or… I can mix something that will make you lose consciousness as if from pain, but in fact no.. I'll give you a capsule - you'll bite into it when you need to, and... you won't feel anything... you won't feel this horror,” he sobbed again, but tried to pull himself together. SkekZok wasn't crying. And he was about to lose an eye. So, he had to be strong, too. For skekZok. “You fainted from the pain last time, didn't you? They must believe...
The Ritual Master smiled slightly at him.
“Thank you, skekTek,” he gently stroked his cheek with his hand. “I appreciate it. I really do.”
“SkekZok.”
“Yes?”
“Why... why are you so calm?” that question had plagued the Scientist all this time.
The priest was silent for half a minute before answering.
“You call me brave. But I have always been a coward, always, skekTek. I was afraid to stand up to the Emperor, I couldn't put the Slave Master in his place.... When I couldn't protect you today, I thought, maybe it's time I did one brave thing in my life.”
“Come here,” skekTek pulled him lower by his bloody-red collar. A collar that very soon would indeed be stained with blood... but the Scientist tried not to think about that right now. He opened his mouth, and soon their beaks joined in a tender, long kiss.
When they pulled away from each other, skekTek asked. “Is there anything else I can do for you? In the last hours before-" he hesitated, afraid to say “punishment”.
“Stay with me,” the Ritual Master smiled affectionately at him. “That will be enough.”
“Of course,” skekTek took him by the arm. “Shall we?”
SkekZok nodded.
On the way to the priest's chambers, the Scientist thought of only one thing.
“Crystal help us get through all this.”
***
“Wrong. wrong...” the Scientist mumbled to himself, picking at the prosthesis with a tool. There were five more of them lying nearby, which he rejected, starting over and over again. Something was bothering him. Whether it was the squeaking and rustling of the caged animals, or his lack of knowledge and experience in this field, or the fact that his hands were shaking today...
The scene of the punishment still played over and over again in his head. The peeper beetle crawled into skekZok's eye socket and savoured the eye with a wet slurping sound. SkekTek didn't want to watch, but he couldn't look away either. He must know in great detail how the injury had been inflicted, so that he could treat more effectively later. He hated himself for his powerlessness, even though he had done what he could: injected the anaesthetic and provided the capsule. The capsule had worked perfectly - the Ritual Master had passed out almost immediately after the punishment began. But he still gave a muffled, painful groans now and then, and unconsciously twitched with each new chew of the peeper beetle's jaws.
The Scientist flinched as he felt a hand lay on his shoulder. Soon the priest sat down on the bench next to him. SkekTek looked up at him, concerned. For the last twenty-four hours since the punishment, skekZok seemed as if his thoughts were elsewhere. He hadn't expressed any emotion, hadn't spoken. Not even a prayer. And that was what worried skekTek. He had injected him with all sorts of painkillers and sedatives, of course, but the effect shouldn't have been... this strong.
SkekTek noticed that the Ritual Master sat down with the healthy side of his face towards him and turned round in profile. Clearly intentional.
“How are you feeling?” the Scientist asked. The motives were not entirely clear to him: the injured part of skekZok’s face was now carefully bandaged, and it was bandaged by skekTek too. He saw, and knew that there, under the bandages, was the gaping hole of a gnawed-out eye socket. It was painful and sad to look at, but he would never show it. SkekZok shouldn't be in any more pain than he already was.
“No pain,” the Ritual Master said tonelessly, and the Scientist was delighted to hear it. No pain and he speaks again. That's progress.
“And... psychologically?” skekTek asked cautiously.
After that question, skekZok stared silently into the void with his remaining bright blue eye for some time.
“I don't regret anything,” he finally said. “My face was already horribly disfi-“
“Don't say that!” skekTek cut him off. “Don't ever say that, do you hear me?” he took him by the arm. “SkekZok,” he tried to look into his face, to cross his gaze, but the priest turned away harder. “Not once did I think you were unattractive, not then, not now. Not once. You are beautiful. SkekZok, you are so beautiful, do you hear me?” skekTek wrapped his arms around the Ritual Master's golden cloaked shoulders, pulling him closer. He didn't resist. “You are the most beautiful Skeksis on Thra, and I don't care! It doesn’t matter how many punishments you've endured. I mean... it does matter, and I'll be eternally grateful to you, but... I will always love you, for all eternity. You're certainly not worse looking than the Emperor, and his beak is...” the Scientist hesitated. He was not allowed to speak of this with anyone. Ever. “Anyway. I love you, and I will do everything to atone for my guilt, albeit indirect,” He fell silent, not expecting such a fiery speech from himself.
The Ritual Master sighed heavily, at last shifting his gaze to him. His bright blue eye stared with wistful indifference.
“Perhaps you are right...”
“I'm definitely right.”
They were silent for a few minutes.
“SkekZok, science or religion?”
The priest paused for a moment, then sadly replied. “Science.”
“I think religion.”
SkekZok turned to look at him. Out of surprise, he even forgot to keep the injured part of his face out of skekTek's sight.
“Good,” the Scientist remarked to himself and then moved over to the Ritual Master's lap and sat upright, pressing his thighs with his own. Wrapped his palms around his snout and licked him lightly on the bony bridge of his beak. He knew skekZok wouldn't feel anything, but he did appreciate such gestures greatly.
“So,” skekTek continued, pleased to the interest that was beginning to dawn in skekZok’s only eye. “I think religion. And here's why...”