Touching my Spirit bear did this to me.
Right so experiment in time shifts and I guess flashbacks. Or something.
Past and Present
A short story by Gabrielle Lissauer
Tiredly, Alec rested his head on the side of the carriage wall, as the opulent vehicle bounced on the dirt road, a full complement of soldiers riding behind them as they went on their tour. Next to him, looking over reports sat the great general Orion; the man credited with single handedly orchestrating and winning the largest war the country had seen, as well as his master and lover. Occasionally, Orion would send him a smile and reach out to pet his leg. Adoringly, Alec would smile back before looking out the window at the rolling countryside, at the endless miles of fields and pastures of sheep. Fingering the collar he wore, his mind drifted off and back to how he had ended up consort to the kingdom's greatest general.
----
It had started in the slave markets. The one thing that he never forgot about the market was the smell. The smell of humans packed together like cattle. Sweaty and sour and fetid mixed with the perfumes of buyers and the must of their horses. They kept him in a small cage while the market was open, small enough that he couldn't stand, only sit, because he had tried to escape three times already. The only reason why he wasn't killed was because of his looks, his pretty, almost fey looks, with long pointed ears, a narrow face and messy black hair that fell about his face. His muscles cramped in the cage as he tried to find a more comfortable position. The sun reflected on the metal bars and made him squint.
A few potential buyers stopped by to look at him, but he glowered at them angrily and they moved on.
Then another man walked by, tall and important, wearing the uniform of an officer. The market’s leader led him around, showing him different slaves. The general seemed to be mostly disinterested with the selection, pretty and frightened young men and women in their mid teens to early twenties, until his eyes landed on Alec. He stared into the man's stormy blue eyes defiantly, as if daring him to do something. The general tapped the leader on the shoulder and gestured to him. The two of them talked for a moment and the general approached the cage.
"Aren't you the pretty one?" he murmured, a slightly crooked smile on his face, which Alec later learned meant that he was pleased with something.
Alec gave him a snarl.
"With spirit. I like him. Have him sent to my quarters," he said offhandedly before turning and walking away. He didn’t even ask for a price or bargain. Abstractly, Alec wondered if he had been given away for free or the price had been settled on before. Still, at least he was getting out of the cage.
The general's quarters did not look like they belonged to a general at all. They were practically luxurious. It had a large leather couch, thick rugs, bookshelves filled with books and all sorts of strange and sundry items, a fancy roll top desk and a round wooden table. A door led to what Alec assumed was the bedroom, but it was locked, so he couldn't look inside of it. He had tried the door, both to the supposed bedroom and to the outside, and they were locked, so instead he paced around nervously, not knowing what to expect.
Hours passed, and then, finally, the door opened and the general walked in, looking very pleased. He sat down in a chair and looked Alec over in a very possessive way, his gaze traveling all over him, making Alec step back and away from him. "Hello pretty," he said gesturing to the other chair. Alec didn't take it. "What's your name?"
"Alec. What's yours?" he asked boldly.
The general laughed. "Orion. But you will call me Master."
"I will not."
Again the laughter, and then quicker than Alec could follow, he found himself pushed up against the wall, Orion's hand squeezing at his throat. "Now listen to me pretty, and listen to me well. There's only one rule here. You obey me and make me happy and you'll be happy. You don't..." and he squeezed tighter, choking Alec. "Do you understand?"
Alec managed a frightened nod. The squeezing let up, but his hand still pinned Alec to the wall. The other hand reached up to stroke his face and hair. "Good boy."
---
The carriage jolted hard, going over a large bump in the road, knocking him out of his thoughts. Orion glanced at him with a small smile. "All right there lovely?" Alec nodded and then scooted closer to lean on Orion. The general's arm went around his waist, pulling him close, letting him snuggle into his jacket, smelling his musky almost smoky smell. The general’s other hand reached up to trace the scabbing spirals on Alec's face. Orion had decorated his face a few days ago, thinking that the tiny spirals looked pretty. While he didn’t particularly care for them, he accepted them whole heartedly because Orion had done them. They weren't the first scars Orion had decorated him with, merely the latest.
---
"You need a bath," Orion pronounced suddenly, stroking Alec's face with his free hand, fingers moving down his neck. He kissed the neck and gave it a nip, before releasing him. Alec tried to scramble away, but Orion grabbed him and picked him up as if he were a child. He squawked in alarm and squirmed, crying to be let go. Orion only laughed, taking him into the bedroom. Alec got a quick flash of a large bed before he was taken into the bathing room and dropped. "Strip."
Alec crossed his arms. "No."
"Strip or I strip you," Orion growled, indicating that if he had to do it, it wouldn’t be pleasant at all.
Hurriedly he stripped as Orion ran water for a bath. The general openly stared at him, his eyes holding a predatory and lustful look as he watched Alec take off his clothes. When Orion felt that the water was right, he picked Alec up and dropped him in the marble tub, splashing water all over the place. One hand held Alec firmly in place while the other roamed his body, scrubbing and touching him. "So pretty."
Despite the bath that he was getting... the first he had in months... Alec didn't feel any cleaner. If anything he felt dirtier than before. He tried to squirm away from the invasive touches, but the hand holding him down wouldn't let him. He refused, then, to make a sound. To not give the general any satisfaction in knowing how frightened he was.
When Orion felt that he was clean enough, once again he was picked up and set onto his feet. A large towel dropped on him, and the general started rub him dry. "You're quiet pretty, nothing to say? I won't mind you talking." He leaned down and licked Alec's neck. "I'd like it even."
"W-what do you want from me?"
"Something to keep me amused. A toy. I do get so bored sometimes. You'll be a good pet, I think."
"I'm not a pet!"
"Alec, you're my slave. You're whatever I say you are." He pulled the towel away and looked at him critically. Alec took a step back. "Come on pretty, time to make you look nice."
Look nice required tying a naked Alec to the bed. From a chest, Orion pulled a wooden box, finely made of dark wood. He ran his fingers lovingly over it as he walked to the bed. Alec eyed the box with extreme trepidation. He found it hard to breathe, and his face hurt where Orion had smacked him when he had resisted being cuffed to the bed. Orion set the box down so Alec could see the contents. Contents being a selection of fine knives, enameled in blues and greens. He picked up one of the smaller ones and ran the dull side down Alec's arm. Quivering, Alec tried to pull away, but the cuffs held him still. He whimpered instead.
"Shhh..." Orion soothed, stroking his hair. And then he started to cut into Alec's arm.
His breathing hitched and he swallowed as the knife slowly carved Orion's name. He did not scream. He clenched his fists. He closed his eyes and tried to take himself far, far, far away from where he was. But he did not scream. Orion, he heard, gave an annoyed grunt. The knife was put away and another one taken out. More cutting on his arm, more pain, eventually he cried out, softly, moaning, body trembling, mind awash in fear. Orion gave a pleased rumble, occasionally bending down to lick the blood, his tongue rough and scraping.
Finally, finally, after what seemed like hours, but was probably only minutes, Orion put the knives away. Carefully, gently, he bandaged Alec's arm, making soothing noises like a mother comforting her child. "There now pretty, that wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked as he un-cuffed Alec.
---
Orion stroked his hair and Alec started to doze off again. It had been a long ride and a long day. They had gotten up early to make good time to the outlying fort. Normally they would have ridden by horseback, but Orion hadn't felt like it, rather wanting to spend the time catching up on paperwork. As night fell, they stopped at a roadside inn. The inn keeper, astonished to have such important guests, gave Orion the best room in the house. Of course, Alec knew, if he didn’t, there would have been trouble. Lamb stew and fresh bread made dinner, with weak wine for Alec to drink. Orion felt that he was still too young to drink anything stronger, though he did allow Alec to sip from his cup. After dinner he sent Alec up to their room.
Alec paced the room while Orion talked to his men downstairs. The room, he felt, was serviceable. Not like their rooms back in the palace, but it would do for the night. The bed felt comfortable, with nothing sticking out or poking. It had a private bath and fireplace. It could almost be called cozy, except for the cracks in the window panes and peeling paint. He undressed, slipping under the covers to wait for Orion to come to him. He knew his master's appetites, knew what he wanted and he welcomed it.
--
Orion petted him for a while. Slowly his pettings turning to strokes and he leaned down to kiss Alec. Alec turned his head away from him and Orion growled low. "Behave pretty."
"Don't touch me!"
"You're mine. Mind, body and soul. You may not realize it yet, but you are."
Alec tried to squirm away from him, but Orion's bulk and strength kept him pinned down. The general heaved himself on top of Alec, kissing and bitting his jaw and neck. He cried and begged for Orion to stop, but he wouldn't, apparently taking pleasure in Alec's cries of fear. His hands scratched at his skin, rubbing and sliding. He pushed himself into Alec roughly, hands running possessively over him, all the while asking for Alec to beg. As he thrusted, he worked on Alec until he cried and moaned with him, pressing and begging and wanting.
When he was at last satisfied, Orion kissed Alec lazily, wrapping his arms around him, murmuring sweet nothings and telling him that he was a good boy. Trapped there, Alec cried himself to sleep.
---
Alec snuggled in Orion's arms, feeling the sweat rub against him, listening to the general's breathing slow from a ragged pant to a purring rumble that Alec had learned to recognize as Orion falling asleep. He felt completely safe and content in his master's arms, knowing that he would be protected from any harm. Orion kissed him on the forehead and murmured, "Love you."
He sighed and yawned, "Love you too, Master."
"Good boy. My boy."
"Master?"
"Yes, lovely?"
"How long have I been with you?"
Orion shifted, pulling Alec closer against him, letting Alec to rest his head in the crook of his neck. "Six months, I think."
He let out another sleepy yawn, pressing himself close to Orion. "Really? It feels like a life time."
Past and Present
A short story by Gabrielle Lissauer
Tiredly, Alec rested his head on the side of the carriage wall, as the opulent vehicle bounced on the dirt road, a full complement of soldiers riding behind them as they went on their tour. Next to him, looking over reports sat the great general Orion; the man credited with single handedly orchestrating and winning the largest war the country had seen, as well as his master and lover. Occasionally, Orion would send him a smile and reach out to pet his leg. Adoringly, Alec would smile back before looking out the window at the rolling countryside, at the endless miles of fields and pastures of sheep. Fingering the collar he wore, his mind drifted off and back to how he had ended up consort to the kingdom's greatest general.
----
It had started in the slave markets. The one thing that he never forgot about the market was the smell. The smell of humans packed together like cattle. Sweaty and sour and fetid mixed with the perfumes of buyers and the must of their horses. They kept him in a small cage while the market was open, small enough that he couldn't stand, only sit, because he had tried to escape three times already. The only reason why he wasn't killed was because of his looks, his pretty, almost fey looks, with long pointed ears, a narrow face and messy black hair that fell about his face. His muscles cramped in the cage as he tried to find a more comfortable position. The sun reflected on the metal bars and made him squint.
A few potential buyers stopped by to look at him, but he glowered at them angrily and they moved on.
Then another man walked by, tall and important, wearing the uniform of an officer. The market’s leader led him around, showing him different slaves. The general seemed to be mostly disinterested with the selection, pretty and frightened young men and women in their mid teens to early twenties, until his eyes landed on Alec. He stared into the man's stormy blue eyes defiantly, as if daring him to do something. The general tapped the leader on the shoulder and gestured to him. The two of them talked for a moment and the general approached the cage.
"Aren't you the pretty one?" he murmured, a slightly crooked smile on his face, which Alec later learned meant that he was pleased with something.
Alec gave him a snarl.
"With spirit. I like him. Have him sent to my quarters," he said offhandedly before turning and walking away. He didn’t even ask for a price or bargain. Abstractly, Alec wondered if he had been given away for free or the price had been settled on before. Still, at least he was getting out of the cage.
The general's quarters did not look like they belonged to a general at all. They were practically luxurious. It had a large leather couch, thick rugs, bookshelves filled with books and all sorts of strange and sundry items, a fancy roll top desk and a round wooden table. A door led to what Alec assumed was the bedroom, but it was locked, so he couldn't look inside of it. He had tried the door, both to the supposed bedroom and to the outside, and they were locked, so instead he paced around nervously, not knowing what to expect.
Hours passed, and then, finally, the door opened and the general walked in, looking very pleased. He sat down in a chair and looked Alec over in a very possessive way, his gaze traveling all over him, making Alec step back and away from him. "Hello pretty," he said gesturing to the other chair. Alec didn't take it. "What's your name?"
"Alec. What's yours?" he asked boldly.
The general laughed. "Orion. But you will call me Master."
"I will not."
Again the laughter, and then quicker than Alec could follow, he found himself pushed up against the wall, Orion's hand squeezing at his throat. "Now listen to me pretty, and listen to me well. There's only one rule here. You obey me and make me happy and you'll be happy. You don't..." and he squeezed tighter, choking Alec. "Do you understand?"
Alec managed a frightened nod. The squeezing let up, but his hand still pinned Alec to the wall. The other hand reached up to stroke his face and hair. "Good boy."
---
The carriage jolted hard, going over a large bump in the road, knocking him out of his thoughts. Orion glanced at him with a small smile. "All right there lovely?" Alec nodded and then scooted closer to lean on Orion. The general's arm went around his waist, pulling him close, letting him snuggle into his jacket, smelling his musky almost smoky smell. The general’s other hand reached up to trace the scabbing spirals on Alec's face. Orion had decorated his face a few days ago, thinking that the tiny spirals looked pretty. While he didn’t particularly care for them, he accepted them whole heartedly because Orion had done them. They weren't the first scars Orion had decorated him with, merely the latest.
---
"You need a bath," Orion pronounced suddenly, stroking Alec's face with his free hand, fingers moving down his neck. He kissed the neck and gave it a nip, before releasing him. Alec tried to scramble away, but Orion grabbed him and picked him up as if he were a child. He squawked in alarm and squirmed, crying to be let go. Orion only laughed, taking him into the bedroom. Alec got a quick flash of a large bed before he was taken into the bathing room and dropped. "Strip."
Alec crossed his arms. "No."
"Strip or I strip you," Orion growled, indicating that if he had to do it, it wouldn’t be pleasant at all.
Hurriedly he stripped as Orion ran water for a bath. The general openly stared at him, his eyes holding a predatory and lustful look as he watched Alec take off his clothes. When Orion felt that the water was right, he picked Alec up and dropped him in the marble tub, splashing water all over the place. One hand held Alec firmly in place while the other roamed his body, scrubbing and touching him. "So pretty."
Despite the bath that he was getting... the first he had in months... Alec didn't feel any cleaner. If anything he felt dirtier than before. He tried to squirm away from the invasive touches, but the hand holding him down wouldn't let him. He refused, then, to make a sound. To not give the general any satisfaction in knowing how frightened he was.
When Orion felt that he was clean enough, once again he was picked up and set onto his feet. A large towel dropped on him, and the general started rub him dry. "You're quiet pretty, nothing to say? I won't mind you talking." He leaned down and licked Alec's neck. "I'd like it even."
"W-what do you want from me?"
"Something to keep me amused. A toy. I do get so bored sometimes. You'll be a good pet, I think."
"I'm not a pet!"
"Alec, you're my slave. You're whatever I say you are." He pulled the towel away and looked at him critically. Alec took a step back. "Come on pretty, time to make you look nice."
Look nice required tying a naked Alec to the bed. From a chest, Orion pulled a wooden box, finely made of dark wood. He ran his fingers lovingly over it as he walked to the bed. Alec eyed the box with extreme trepidation. He found it hard to breathe, and his face hurt where Orion had smacked him when he had resisted being cuffed to the bed. Orion set the box down so Alec could see the contents. Contents being a selection of fine knives, enameled in blues and greens. He picked up one of the smaller ones and ran the dull side down Alec's arm. Quivering, Alec tried to pull away, but the cuffs held him still. He whimpered instead.
"Shhh..." Orion soothed, stroking his hair. And then he started to cut into Alec's arm.
His breathing hitched and he swallowed as the knife slowly carved Orion's name. He did not scream. He clenched his fists. He closed his eyes and tried to take himself far, far, far away from where he was. But he did not scream. Orion, he heard, gave an annoyed grunt. The knife was put away and another one taken out. More cutting on his arm, more pain, eventually he cried out, softly, moaning, body trembling, mind awash in fear. Orion gave a pleased rumble, occasionally bending down to lick the blood, his tongue rough and scraping.
Finally, finally, after what seemed like hours, but was probably only minutes, Orion put the knives away. Carefully, gently, he bandaged Alec's arm, making soothing noises like a mother comforting her child. "There now pretty, that wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked as he un-cuffed Alec.
---
Orion stroked his hair and Alec started to doze off again. It had been a long ride and a long day. They had gotten up early to make good time to the outlying fort. Normally they would have ridden by horseback, but Orion hadn't felt like it, rather wanting to spend the time catching up on paperwork. As night fell, they stopped at a roadside inn. The inn keeper, astonished to have such important guests, gave Orion the best room in the house. Of course, Alec knew, if he didn’t, there would have been trouble. Lamb stew and fresh bread made dinner, with weak wine for Alec to drink. Orion felt that he was still too young to drink anything stronger, though he did allow Alec to sip from his cup. After dinner he sent Alec up to their room.
Alec paced the room while Orion talked to his men downstairs. The room, he felt, was serviceable. Not like their rooms back in the palace, but it would do for the night. The bed felt comfortable, with nothing sticking out or poking. It had a private bath and fireplace. It could almost be called cozy, except for the cracks in the window panes and peeling paint. He undressed, slipping under the covers to wait for Orion to come to him. He knew his master's appetites, knew what he wanted and he welcomed it.
--
Orion petted him for a while. Slowly his pettings turning to strokes and he leaned down to kiss Alec. Alec turned his head away from him and Orion growled low. "Behave pretty."
"Don't touch me!"
"You're mine. Mind, body and soul. You may not realize it yet, but you are."
Alec tried to squirm away from him, but Orion's bulk and strength kept him pinned down. The general heaved himself on top of Alec, kissing and bitting his jaw and neck. He cried and begged for Orion to stop, but he wouldn't, apparently taking pleasure in Alec's cries of fear. His hands scratched at his skin, rubbing and sliding. He pushed himself into Alec roughly, hands running possessively over him, all the while asking for Alec to beg. As he thrusted, he worked on Alec until he cried and moaned with him, pressing and begging and wanting.
When he was at last satisfied, Orion kissed Alec lazily, wrapping his arms around him, murmuring sweet nothings and telling him that he was a good boy. Trapped there, Alec cried himself to sleep.
---
Alec snuggled in Orion's arms, feeling the sweat rub against him, listening to the general's breathing slow from a ragged pant to a purring rumble that Alec had learned to recognize as Orion falling asleep. He felt completely safe and content in his master's arms, knowing that he would be protected from any harm. Orion kissed him on the forehead and murmured, "Love you."
He sighed and yawned, "Love you too, Master."
"Good boy. My boy."
"Master?"
"Yes, lovely?"
"How long have I been with you?"
Orion shifted, pulling Alec closer against him, letting Alec to rest his head in the crook of his neck. "Six months, I think."
He let out another sleepy yawn, pressing himself close to Orion. "Really? It feels like a life time."