48 pages • 1-hour read
Captive Prince
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Chapters 6-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of enslavement, racism, gender and/or transgender discrimination, anti-gay bias, sexual violence and/or harassment, rape, child abuse, child sexual abuse, graphic violence, sexual content, and physical and emotional abuse.
Chapter 6 Summary
Laurent and Nicaise leave Erasmus and Damen alone. The few Veretian words Erasmus knows, like “Silence” and “Don’t move,” reflect the authoritative commands that he must obey, which disturbs Damen. When Damen notices wounds on Erasmus’s thigh, Erasmus explains how the courtiers “test” their pets’ obedience by hurting them and ordering them to be silent. Damen resents that the Veretians don’t appreciate Erasmus’s quality. Erasmus recounts the trip to Vere, including how sailors sexually assaulted the Akielons and violently beat a woman to prevent pregnancy. Damen tells Erasmus not to be ashamed and swears to get revenge on the Veretians. Govart approaches and roughly grabs Erasmus by his leash, causing Damen to lunge, stopped only by his own chain. Govart taunts Damen, saying Laurent betrayed them both. Govart spreads Erasmus’s limbs and threatens to sexually assault him in front of Damen. Damen challenges Govart, but a guard tells Govart to take Erasmus and leave.
Damen sits in the garden all night before being moved back to his room.
Laurent relocates to his own wing of the palace, taking Damen and several guards with him. The guards and servants shun Damen for talking to the Regent, but Damen hears some news of talks between Patras and Vere. Patras borders Akielos and isn’t a Veretian ally, which concerns Damen. Damen is increasingly frustrated with his inability to help the other Akielons and wants to free them and himself.
Radel rejects Damen’s request to meet with Laurent, telling Damen about a feast between the Veretians and Patrans. Damen assumes that Radel will still reject Damen’s request and Laurent will make him wait a few days.
Laurent wakes Damen during the night, and Damen says that he’ll submit to Laurent if Laurent can help the enslaved Akielons in the Regent’s possession. When Laurent questions Damen’s motives, Damen says it’s the only way he can help his people. Laurent criticizes Akielos, which enslaved these people, but Damen says enslaved people are treated well in Akielos in exchange for their obedience. Damen criticizes the Veretians’ sadism and deception. Laurent calls the guards from the garden, who don’t remember Erasmus but do mention Govart. Damen knows that Laurent thinks he conspired with Govart, who works for the Regent, and Laurent orders punishment for Damen.
Chapter 7 Summary
The guards move forward, but Damen stands, challenging Laurent to send more men. Damen explains that Govart intended to sexually assault Erasmus, but Laurent doesn’t care. Damen calls Laurent and Govart cowards. Laurent dismisses the guards and asks why Damen would give him an “advantage,” and Damen realizes that Laurent wants to hurt the other enslaved Akielons to hurt Damen.
Guards take Damen to Laurent’s heavily guarded personal chambers. Dismissing the guards, Laurent tells Damen that he doesn’t bargain with enslaved people or “pets.” However, Torveld of Patras is meeting with the Regent tonight, and Laurent spent the day convincing Torveld to barter for the enslaved Akielons. Patras is similar to Akielos, so the Akielons will be treated better there. Damen doesn’t believe Laurent is doing this out of kindness and wonders what his angle is. Laurent acknowledges that Damen could tell the Regent this plan, but Laurent will hurt Damen if he betrays him. Laurent details the court, telling Damen not to speak or contradict him. Damen only needs to answer to the Regent and Laurent, since he’s still ranked higher than everyone else as Laurent’s property. Laurent cautions Damen against engaging with Nicaise, whom Laurent says is more dangerous than he appears.
Before the banquet, diplomats and courtiers gather, and Laurent leads Damen on a leash. Damen sees Ancel, who blows him a kiss, and Laurent wields Damen like a ward against approaching courtiers. Torveld greets Laurent warmly, and Damen follows them to a private alcove. Torveld tells Laurent how beautiful the Akielon capital is, but he notes that Kastor is struggling to unify the Akielons like his father, Theomedes, did. Damen knows that the northern provinces, like Sicyon, will dispute Kastor’s rule. A servant calls Laurent and Torveld to meet with the Regent, who asks to speak with Laurent. The Regent criticizes Laurent, who claims that he’s taking the Regent’s advice to get more involved in politics. Damen advises Laurent to stop provoking the Regent, but Laurent tells him to shut up.
Chapter 8 Summary
Laurent sits next to Torveld, with Damen on his other side. Next to Damen, Nicaise taunts him and stabs his thigh with a fork. Nicaise tells Laurent that his coup won’t work, and they make a wager. Nicaise has been at court for three years, and he says Laurent was “frigid” when he was younger, too. When Laurent tells Torveld to push for the enslaved Akielons from the Regent, Nicaise leaves, and Damen warns Laurent. Laurent caresses Damen’s face and feeds him candy, drawing everyone’s attention. Torveld is shocked, since enslaved people in Patras and Akielos feed their masters.
Laurent leaves with Torveld, and Vannes introduces Damen to her “pet,” Talik, a tall woman from Vask. Talik appreciates Damen, prodding him about Akielon warriors and speculating that Laurent is sexually attracted to him. Nicaise interrupts them and implies that he has ruined Laurent’s plan, telling Damen to go see the Regent. Damen meets the Regent, who suspects that Damen and Laurent had sex. Damen rejects the Regent’s offer for Damen to become an advisor to Laurent, knowing that this would mean allying himself with the Regent over Laurent. Damen finds Torveld and Laurent and overhears Torveld flirting with Laurent, which Laurent deflects. Damen interrupts, sending Laurent to the Regent, and Laurent whispers that Damen took his time. Torveld wishes to trade places with Damen, which Damen thinks is foolish.
Everyone gathers for entertainment, and Ancel performs with a flaming baton, impressing Damen. Laurent continues to deflect Torveld’s flirtation, and Nicaise calls in the next entertainment: Erasmus. Damen threatens Nicaise and asks Laurent to end the performance. Torveld criticizes Erasmus’s lack of grace, and Nicaise tells him about Erasmus’s brands. Torveld demands that Ancel put out the flame and calls Erasmus to sit with him. Nicaise realizes that Laurent tricked him, but Laurent doesn’t engage, noting that Nicaise is learning.
Damen sees Ancel pouring wine for the Regent during negotiations and assumes that Ancel wants the Regent to take him on as a pet. Laurent confirms that the enslaved Akielons will go to Patras with Torveld, and Damen insinuates that Laurent might sleep with Torveld. Laurent rejects the idea, noting how Damen is perpetually hateful toward Veretian culture. Damen points to Ancel, but Laurent reveals that Nicaise is the Regent’s pet and Ancel is too old for the Regent’s tastes.
Chapter 9 Summary
Laurent tasks Damen with instructing the Patrans on the training and status of the enslaved Akielons, which allows Damen to talk to the Patrans. Damen meets Torveld in his chambers, noting that Erasmus is asleep in Torveld’s bed. Torveld asks about Erasmus, trying to gauge the degree of trauma he experienced in Vere. Damen asks about Akielos and learns that his house was disbanded, his enslaved servants are dead, and Kastor had Adrastus killed. Jokaste is pregnant, and Damen suspects that her desire to bear the heir was her price for betraying Damen. Torveld notes a similarity between Kastor and Damen, causing Damen to panic, but they change the subject, discussing Laurent’s hatred of Akielos. Torveld looks forward to working with Laurent after his ascension, and Damen thinks Laurent used his charms to trick Torveld.
Torveld, the Regent, Laurent, and other courtiers gather to hunt boar, and Damen notes the luxury of the tents and horses. Nicaise is absent, and most “pets” are excluded from the hunt, though Talik and Ancel are on horses. Laurent’s horse is delicate, and Damen criticizes it. The horn sounds, announcing a boar, and everyone rides toward the sound.
Damen finds Erasmus, who thanks him for asking Laurent to help the enslaved Akielons. Erasmus suspects that Damen loves Laurent, adding that he finds Torveld attractive. The Veretians see obedience as shameful, which contradicts Erasmus’s training of the honor in slavery, but Damen assures him that Patras will be a better home. Damen adds that Torveld is a great man, having brokered peace between Patras and Vask.
The camp gets word of the hunt. Laurent killed the boar but severely injured his horse in the process. A guard had to kill the horse, and Laurent returned on a different horse. The Regent criticizes Laurent for hurting his horse, adding that Nicaise told him about Laurent’s plot to get Torveld to take the enslaved Akielons. Laurent claims that he did so because the Regent won’t allow him to hurt Damen, and the Regent leaves. Damen thinks about escaping after Torveld leaves.
Two nights later, guards wake Damen and tell him that Laurent wants Damen in his bed. Damen initially resists, and a guard exclaims that everyone wants a chance to have sex with Laurent. Damen says Laurent doesn’t want to have sex with him.
Chapters 6-9 Analysis
This section expands the world of Captive Prince, introducing new characters from a countries other than Akielos and Vere. Prince Torveld of Patras, a country whose customs are similar to those of Akielos, provides insight into how Damen, as Damianos, might have reacted upon meeting Laurent, whom Damen already finds attractive. Torveld’s instant attraction to Laurent highlights Laurent’s manipulative nature and displays his proclivity for diplomacy. For Damen, meeting Talik, a woman from Vask, helps him realize that he isn’t alone in his disgust at Veretian customs. Like Damen, Talik abhors Veretian weakness, hedged by deception, so she appreciates Damen’s warrior-like form and tenacity, which Damen reciprocates. These new characters broaden the novel’s world, affording a glimpse into the complexities of Pacat’s universe. For a novel set entirely in one country, Vere, it’s important to acknowledge that each country has its own customs and cultures. The inclusion of characters from Patras and Vask allow another perspective on Vere’s more discriminatory practices, like pederasty, which aren’t universal across the countries of the novel.
The theme of Identity and Self-Discovery Under Oppression develops further as Damen learns how to use obedience as a weapon. Upon speaking with Erasmus, Damen notes, “In Akielos, submission was an art, and the slave was the artisan” (85), and he tells Erasmus, “You were made for better masters than these” (87). The Veretians’ mistreatment of Erasmus shows Damen that they only appreciate obedience for the sake of control, taking pleasure in dominating others rather than seeing the beauty Akielons find in the “art” of being enslaved. The contract Damen frames between a “master” and an enslaved person is based on mutual respect for each person’s skills, and an enslaved person like Erasmus would master the “art” of submission, but that view is worthless in Vere. Later, Damen uses this understanding to negotiate with Laurent: “You want me to submit. I’ll do it. You want me to publicly earn the punishment that your uncle won’t let you mete out? Whatever performance you want from me, you’ll have it. I will throw myself on the sword. In exchange for one thing” (92). Though Laurent’s response remains vague, Damen’s request is precisely the kind of offer that makes sense in a Veretian context. The Veretians seek only dominance, and Damen gives Laurent a chance to dominate him publicly to show how he “tamed” the wild Akielon. In exchange for his submission, Damen secures a better future for Erasmus and the other enslaved Akielons, saving them from the brutal domination of the Veretians.
A theme that emerges in this section is Betrayal and Deception as a Form of Warfare, which forms a critical contrast between Damen’s perception of “fighting” and the Veretian court customs. Whereas Damen knows how to use a blade or his fists to subdue an enemy, he doesn’t understand how to manipulate and deceive others, especially when he’s required to think multiple steps ahead in a scheme. The conflict between Laurent and Nicaise highlights the effectiveness of these tactics in achieving an aim, and Laurent displays his mastery of deception. First, he seduces Torveld, convincing him to barter for the enslaved Akielons. Nicaise’s only motivation seems to be ruining Laurent’s plans, but that’s sufficient to get Nicaise fully invested in scheming against Laurent. Predicting Nicaise’s involvement, Laurent arranges for Torveld to sympathize with Erasmus during Ancel’s flame performance, leading Torveld to push more strongly for the enslaved Akielons. After the fact, Nicaise approaches Laurent, saying, “You planned this! […] You wanted him to see—you tricked me!” (116), though Damen notes how Nicaise’s tone is “the same voice [in which] a lover might have said: How could you!” (116). Nicaise realizes that, though he looked a few steps ahead to show Torveld the flaws in the enslaved Akielons, Laurent not only predicted Nicaise’s move but went beyond it, ensuring that the display of weakness would garner sympathy.
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