The Lamp is Lighted!

Vassal (32,437 words) by island_of_reil
Status: Complete (2 of 2 chapters)
Rating: Explicit
Relationships: Marco Loristan/The Rat, Marco Loristan/Original Female Character, The Rat/Original Male Character
Characters: Marco Loristan, The Rat, The Emperor's Favorite (Prince Rudolf of Vienna), Original Female Characters, Original Male Characters
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Implied/Referenced Torture, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Ableism, Execution, Hanging, Infidelity, Angst
Additional Tags: Loyalty, Political Intrigue, 1920s
Summary: It is six years after the events of "Lord and Liege." Happy in his marriage to Paulina, who has since borne two little princes and a princess, Marco has been able to resist his longing for the Rat. In the meantime, the Rat has attached himself romantically to a nobleman whom Marco does not fully trust.
     Marco has enacted some reforms to Samavian law, but nowhere near enough. When the nobility’s violent opposition put the Rat in danger, Marco gave up on reform temporarily. But he cannot do so forever, especially not with the threat of the Soviets so close at hand. The Rat suggests they quietly slip away to his lover’s remote mountain dacha to work on the reforms without opposition or the attention of spies. In this peaceful rural setting, they must acknowledge what they are to one another — and face grave danger.

Read Vassal at An Archive of Our Own.