Last Hope: Save Me: Chapter 7 Uruha&Aoi
Title: Last Hope: Save Me
Chapters: 7/?
Author: seannabirchwood
Genre: fantasy/erotic romance/dark romance
Warnings: rape, overall character death, sex, extreme violence, bad language
Rating: NC-17
Pairings/Characters: Aoi/Uruha, Uruha/Aoi (not sure which yet XD, so will be updated), Ruki/Uruha (one sided), Shou/Hiroto, Ruki/Shou (one sided), Kyo/Uruha (one sided) possibly others coming (over all chapters)
Synopsis: Uruha’s been taken from his homeland, and now he’s been ushered into somewhere new, as a slave. Now he sees hope in a dark haired stable hand, and feels something starting in his chest, something he hasn’t felt in what feels like an eternity.
Comments: The guards were coming
Disclaimer: I own nothing TT_TT
Chapters: 1http://seannabirchwood.livejournal.com/1417.html#cutid1, 2http://seannabirchwood.livejournal.com/2250.html#cutid1, 3 http://seannabirchwood.livejournal.com/3134.html#cutid1, 4 http://seannabirchwood.livejournal.com/3551.html#cutid1 , 5 http://seannabirchwood.livejournal.com/3958.html#cutid1 , 6, 7
Weeks passed and leaves began to fall, becoming crisp. Autumn painted the sky in bright colours to match the trees’ new fashions. Children’s squeals echoed around the cool stones of the towering palace. Children of nobles and peasants alike managed to find each other in the streets while their parents busied themselves with the harvest. From somewhere, the sound of a horse whinny drifted through the open balcony door.
Kouyou bent and picked up a rust coloured leaf, pressing its roughness to his cheek, beneath a hollowed, black circled eye. The laughter and joy of the harvest couldn’t reach him through the blanket of numbness he had wrapped about himself. He had no concerns with the real world anymore; the world that was so cleverly just beyond his grasp.
Behind him, the sounds of Ruki and Kyo whispering reached his ears. He didn’t tense. He felt no fear. Their voices were heavy, they were close to sleep. Their muscles were tired from their routine morning exercise. Kouyou’s routine.
He went through the days using the littlest of his energy possible. There was very little to spare after breathing. Today was no exception as he slowly wandered from the room down toward the kitchens where he hoped to find his master’s meal already prepared. It was a waste of his precious energy to have to make it from scratch.
Shou greeted him quietly. Kouyou, in his own world, never noticed when exactly the light had been cut from the chef’s eyes or when he had stopped smiling. He greeted the chef back. They were two of the same person now. Silent. Defeated. There were no joys in the kitchen where Kouyou had once sought sanity. He was sure there would never be happiness again.
Happiness is just a word.
“I need you to go to the stables with a bag of grain if you can manage it. They ran out of supply yesterday, and new supply won’t be in until tomorrow.” Shou murmured. Neither of them cared enough to make sure Kouyou knew exactly what he said. Kouyou’s knowledge of the language was stronger now, much stronger.
Wordlessly, he walked back to the canvas sacks full of grain. He gripped the top of one as tightly as he could muster, and was not surprised when he barely got it two inches off of the ground. Kouyou turned around and pulled it along the ground, wondering where the usual servants who took care of the harder chores were.
He huffed weakly, managing to get it out of the kitchens. The stables felt as if they were leagues away. He was shaking from the effort by the time he reached the dirt ground and he paused to take a rest. Even his vision shook and mentally he berated himself for his even further weakened state.
Kouyou had come to avoid looking at his reflection. His hair was a mess: Ruki had tried to cut the singed patches out himself. His face was covered in bruises and it was impossible to discern where the black eyes ended and the tired rings around them began. His neck was covered in bite marks and purple-black bruises. So it didn’t surprise him when the children of stable hands and maids scampered away from him like he had a plague.
To avoid ruining the bag, he had to lift and carry it a few steps, drop it, and repeat. The manner quickly exhausted him. He leaned on the main building’s door, catching his breath. Thoughts never came to his mind, he had nothing left to think about in his darkness. He only wished he were strong enough to complete simple tasks. He heard a curse behind the door and he quickly stood straight as it swung open.
His eyes met the dark ones of Shiroyama Yuu. For a moment, there was no sign of recognition there. And then those eyes widened in a look of revulsion. “Kouyou?” His voice sounded startled, unsure.
Do I really look that different? “Yes,” his voice was soft, there wasn’t enough strength for it to be anything else.
Yuu surveyed him for a moment longer, before taking the sack of grain and walking out toward the storage room. Kouyou watched him go as he leaned against the outside wall of where he thought Yuu might live; he was exhausted. Maybe a little nap will do me good… And he let his eyes closed.
*
Heavy thuds echoed around his head and he groaned, rolling over in the bed. Bed… His eyes snapped open and he sat up, startled. Looking around, he caught twilight drifting in through a window, the sound of horse neighing somewhere removed, and young men lazily filed between bunk beds. For a moment, he simply felt dazed. Then terror struck.
He should be in Ruki’s bed right now!
“Did you have a nice sleep?” A soft voice from behind.
Kouyou turned, once again facing those stormy dark eyes. “Yes…”
Aoi smiled. “That’s good, I thought those noisy assholes would have kept you awake, but I didn’t need rumours spreading that I had a man-slave in my bed.” His tone was so joking, so carefree, it took Kouyou a moment to decipher what he meant.
But it didn’t matter. “Matsumoto-sama! He will kill me from being late, I must leave!”
“I think you mean for being late. . .” The terror in Kouyou’s eyes made Aoi sick to his stomach. He gripped Kouyou’s shoulder. “You speak better now.”
Kouyou downcast his eyes, whether in submission or shame Yuu couldn’t tell. “Practise.” Was there fear in his voice?
“You look horrible.” Yuu murmured, pulling him gently into his personal quarters. He closed the door behind them. “I told you to come to me when you needed help.” His voice was fiercer now, he could feel Kouyou pulling away from him. Aoi lightly ran his fingers over the bruises on his face, on his neck. “Why didn’t you come?”
Kouyou managed to pull away from Yuu’s grip on his shoulder. “D-do not touch me…” It was hard to remember this man’s presence comforting him in the infirmary. Whenever he looked back, it was Ruki or Kyo, pounding into him.
Slut.
Whore.
Pathetic.
Yuu seemed surprised by his reaction, but didn’t move to touch him again. Kouyou watched him cautiously as he spoke, anxiety rising in his chest. He had never been late to his sessions. “Why didn’t you come, Kouyou? Maybe I could have helped…”
How could you help me when you fear the very ground he walks on!? Kouyou wanted to shout, but his sagging shoulders were not the only things to report on the condition of his spirit. “Not able.” He mumbled.
Thump.
Laughter.
Thump.
Pain.
Thump.
Yuu seemed distraught now. “You’re staying here.” Fingers brushed the bite marks and scars around the leather collar on his neck. Kouyou flinched away. “You can’t go back to him.”
Kouyou wished he could tell him to mind his own business. “I have to…”
“He won’t know you’re here, you can be safe. No more bruises.”
Kouyou wondered if Aoi believed it was just bruises or if he just did not want to think of what else it could be. He shook his head. “You scare of him.” He knew that was all he would have to say about that.
To his surprise, Yuu laughed. “What does he have that would scare me? Nothing. I have nothing to lose. Everyone else might be scared of the king, but I am not. And never will be.” There was a pause. “Stay with me. Please?”
“You not let me leave, will you?” The sun had set and there was darkness outside. It would be suicide to leave, to go back, now. But then again, suicide sounded really nice from time to time.
Yuu shook his head. “No, I insist that you stay.”
“Insist?”
“Uh….demand in a nice way?”
Kouyou smiled slightly at his confused tone. “You don’t know?”
“I’m a stable hand, not a language teacher.”
It was really as simple as that. Without spoken consent, it was accepted that Kouyou was staying in the little room jutting off of the stable hand quarters.
He didn’t trust the black haired man. Didn’t trust his smile, his eyes, or the way he moved. In fact, he didn’t trust any of the men milling about just beyond the wooden door. His eyes were sharp, his ears sharper, and he listened intently for the sound of footsteps approaching him. He clutched Yuu’s bed sheets close to himself when he thought he did hear the sound of someone about to enter the room.
Kouyou knew he would never trust anyone ever again.
上
“Where is he?” Kyo’s rough voice rumbled. He wasn’t exactly angry, just a little mystified. The anger coming from Ruki was enough for the both of them.
“If I have to track him down. . .” he trailed off, imagining all the things he would do to punish his slave.
“Sounds like fun. Let’s go see if the whore passed out somewhere.” Kyo pressed, a smile spreading across his thin lips. Matsumoto was aggressive enough, but when he was around … it was delicious to watch.
Ruki nodded. “Get your ass off of my bed and get dressed, then we’ll go.”
*
Anger.
Glasses crashing against walls.
Tables overturned and blankets torn apart.
Where is he?
Takanori Matsumoto paced about his room, thinking about where Uruha could be. He wouldn’t have made it passed the guard always on the wall. He had to be inside the castle walls, but where? The kitchens had been searched. A meeting had been called and the servants knew that if they were found hiding his slave the punishment would be severe. And yet, no one had come forward with any information, almost like Uruha had vanished into thin air.
He would live to regret his mistake.
None could escape Ruki.
暴君
Yuu dusted off his filthy pants, standing up from a long, slightly chilly day of work. By the day, his nerves grew. It had been a week since the king announced the death penalty to both the one who might be hiding Kouyou, and Kouyou. To his distaste, it meant Kouyou had to remain in the stable-hands’ quarters at all time. Bathroom before and after sunrise and sunset. He could see Kouyou hated it as well.
Walking briskly into the compound, he went to his room, smiling before he opened the door. His smile was met by the smaller one on Kouyou’s face. Yuu noticed how frail the other seemed to be getting, despite the constant food he was shoving down his throat. Being cooped up inside the small room, it seemed, was worse than being cooped up inside the large palace.
At first, Yuu had been worried about the odd feeling he got when he was around the fair haired other, but the longer time he was able to spend, the more they shared a bed, the less those feelings nagged at him. As he sat by him, looping an arm around him for comfort’s sake, Yuu knew those feelings had vanished entirely. Kouyou rested his head on him.
Not for the first time, Kouyou whispered: “you should have let me go that night.”
Yuu sighed, gently pushing him. “It’s too late for that now, quit thinking it.” It wasn’t the first time he had spoken those words either.
“You are crazy.” Kouyou murmured back. It was starting to be a ritual.
“I know, but I couldn’t stand thinking of someone going through what you have and not doing something about it.” Repeat! Yuu wanted to sing. It was starting to get a little old, no matter how he loved the other man.
There, he’d gone and thought it now. Great.
“We have to escape.”
“I know, Kouyou.” Aoi returned, holding the broken man. He didn’t need to voice the question.
Where would the money come from?
How would they get passed the castle walls?
Where would they go?
Winter was coming soon; cold, barren winter. If they managed to flee, it would be for the weather to kill them. Aoi felt a knot slowly enclosing him, trapping him, encasing him, and mocking him. For once in his life, he was thinking of someone other than himself or his father, and he was completely helpless.
He was drawn by his thoughts by a sudden movement. Yuu looked down at how Kouyou was cuddled up to him. He gave the fair haired man a quizzical look.
“Why is it cold?” Kouyou asked him.
Aoi blinked. “What do you mean? Winter’s coming…” He should have known what the next question was going to be.
“Who is winter?”
“It’s a season…with snow…” Yuu was at a loss. How could he explain without using words that he had to explain as well?
“What’s a season? What’s snow?”
Taking a long breath, Yuu thought for a moment. He wasn’t exceptionally bright, he hated having to think. “A season is when the weather changes. Snow is…cold, white, fluffy stuff that comes from the sky like rain. You understand now?”
“Only rain comes from the sky.” Kouyou replied, looking at him like he was mad while showing off his improved skills of speech.
Yuu shook his head. “Snow does too.”
Kouyou still didn’t seem to believe him, but he didn’t push it. Maybe there wasn’t snow where Kouyou came from?
*
They were still safe, but for how long?
It was early morning, the sun hadn’t risen yet, but there was enough light outside to see, and the moon was still shinning so bright it was like the sun anyway. Kouyou was peering out the window of the room he had spent the last moon in. Yuu had caved around the middle of the second week and took him for long walks before the sun was up or after it had set, but Kouyou knew it wasn’t enough. He needed to be able to run freely through the woods, feel the leaves and the grasses brush him in greeting. He needed to be home.
His breath rose in front of him, a silvery cloud in a world of argent. The entire ground was blanketed in what seemed to be white sand. Kouyou drew in a surprised breath when he realised that the white sand was falling in clumps from the sky.
“Yuu! Yuu-can, okite! Okite kudasai! Yuu-chan!” Kouyou lapsed into his own tongue in his shock.
It was freezing!
Yuu groaned as he awoke. “Kouyou, it’s early.” He whined. “What’s the matter?”
Kouyou pointed, hoping to the gods that he hadn’t forgotten how to speak Yuu’s tongue. “The ground, white!”
Yuu laughed, sitting up and looking out over Kouyou’s shoulder. “Kouyou, silly, that was what I was trying to tell you before, you know, awhile ago now. That’s snow.”
“Snow?”
“Yeah. Come on, I’ll show you.” He slowly got out of bed, passing Kouyou a sweater and donning on himself.
Kouyou pulled the woollen sweater over his head and snuggled up to it, shivering like crazy. He didn’t like how the cold seemed to follow the pretty white snow that sparkled in the moonlight like a billion diamonds. He followed Yuu as the stable hand led him to the doors and opened one, walking out with a discreet crunch. To Kouyou, it sounded as if someone had broken a bone, and he jumped back in surprise.
Aoi chuckled softly. “C’mon, Kouyou, it won’t hurt you…” Kouyou saw him look down at his feet. Yuu’s feet were clothed, but Kouyou’s were bare, how he liked them. “Well…here,” he walked passed him and stole another stable hand’s boots. “Tora has big feet, try his boots on.”
Kouyou nodded and slipped the foul smelling boots on his feet. He walked out after Aoi, jumping as he, too, made the sound of muffled crunching bones. It was even colder outside, and he leaned against Yuu. It was beautiful, if you could get passed the cold. Everything sparkled in the moonlight, everything that was coated in snow, shone.
“It’s pretty,” Kouyou murmured, bending to scoop up some in his hands. It sifted like powder in his hands, cold powder, it almost burned his hands as it changed into a liquid state. He was enthralled by its apparent magic.
“Kouyou,” Aoi’s voice was almost shrill, a hand grabbed his shoulder, yanking him up. “Run!”
Kouyou blinked, looking behind him as Yuu pulled him quickly away from the quarters. Black shapes were sneaking across the lawn. The guards were coming.