FICLET: Beginnings (Highlander, Caspian, R)
Title: Beginnings
Author: Franzi
Fandom: Highlander
Characters: Caspian, Kronos
Rating: R
Warnings: Some blood, nothing overly bad.
Summary: Approx. 1500BC, somewhere in the Steppes near the Caspian Sea. When the king of his tribe dies, things change for Caspian as well.
Notes: Thanks to lauramcewan for the beta.
Disclaimer: Not my characters. Just borrowing them. No copyright infringement meant.
He hadn't expected it to hurt that much.
From the moment the king had died, Caspian had known what awaited him. As a guard and servant of the king it was expected of him to follow his lord into the grave. A ritual. A mass sacrifice.
He'd been prepared for the ritual by the women of the tribe. His body had been washed thoroughly, he hadn't been allowed to eat for three days - only water. He'd been granted a last wish. A last time with his lover: a gorgeous woman with the sweetest lips he'd ever felt on his body.
As a servant of the king, she'd follow him into death as well.
The stone of the altar was cold, but Caspian didn't even notice it as the knife cut through the sensitive skin of his stomach. Blinding pain took over his world and he could hear himself scream.
As he fought to breathe through the pain, he heard the voice of the priest. He was standing right next to Caspian, holding the knife, but his voice sounded distant, fading out. The priest was saying the prayer for the gods, offering them Caspian's body. Payment for the gods, so that they would guide the dead king well in the afterlife.
The prayer seemed to go on forever while Caspian felt the warm blood spilling from the fatal wound, running down his sides and over his crotch. It felt like a caress, almost erotic, and Caspian closed his eyes, imagining his woman's mouth on his body instead of his own blood. The fantasy, the pleasure, took over, pushing the pain aside, allowing him to endure the ritual.
Only when the prayer was finished did the priest stab Caspian's heart, ending his life. As Caspian's head turned to the side in the last spasms of death, the smiling face of the priest was the last thing he saw.
~~~~~
Caspian came awake with a gasp - and to the horrible stench of dried blood. Lots of dried blood.
He opened his eyes to the surrounding darkness. The tiny light at the far end of one long tunnel was the only thing to convince him that he wasn't blind. It took him a few moments to remember what happened before Caspian sat up with a confused cry.
He should be dead.
He was in a grave, surrounded by a mass of dead bodies.
Caspian ran his hands over his naked body, only to find that there wasn't a gaping wound in neither his belly nor his neck. He was alive. Breathing. He shouldn't be.
With shaking legs, Caspian stood up and walked towards the light at the end of the corridor. Rocks were piled up in front of the entrance, blocking his way out, but they were small enough for him to move them. They thankfully hadn't started with effectively sealing the grave from intruders yet. The sunlight was blinding him once he got out of the grave and it took him a while to readjust. He didn't see the figure standing to the left of him.
"Welcome back, Caspian. Looks like I was right about you after all."
Caspian started at the words, the voice was oh-so-familiar. The prayer. Caspian turned his head to meet the smiling face of the priest. Kronos.
Author: Franzi
Fandom: Highlander
Characters: Caspian, Kronos
Rating: R
Warnings: Some blood, nothing overly bad.
Summary: Approx. 1500BC, somewhere in the Steppes near the Caspian Sea. When the king of his tribe dies, things change for Caspian as well.
Notes: Thanks to lauramcewan for the beta.
Disclaimer: Not my characters. Just borrowing them. No copyright infringement meant.
He hadn't expected it to hurt that much.
From the moment the king had died, Caspian had known what awaited him. As a guard and servant of the king it was expected of him to follow his lord into the grave. A ritual. A mass sacrifice.
He'd been prepared for the ritual by the women of the tribe. His body had been washed thoroughly, he hadn't been allowed to eat for three days - only water. He'd been granted a last wish. A last time with his lover: a gorgeous woman with the sweetest lips he'd ever felt on his body.
As a servant of the king, she'd follow him into death as well.
The stone of the altar was cold, but Caspian didn't even notice it as the knife cut through the sensitive skin of his stomach. Blinding pain took over his world and he could hear himself scream.
As he fought to breathe through the pain, he heard the voice of the priest. He was standing right next to Caspian, holding the knife, but his voice sounded distant, fading out. The priest was saying the prayer for the gods, offering them Caspian's body. Payment for the gods, so that they would guide the dead king well in the afterlife.
The prayer seemed to go on forever while Caspian felt the warm blood spilling from the fatal wound, running down his sides and over his crotch. It felt like a caress, almost erotic, and Caspian closed his eyes, imagining his woman's mouth on his body instead of his own blood. The fantasy, the pleasure, took over, pushing the pain aside, allowing him to endure the ritual.
Only when the prayer was finished did the priest stab Caspian's heart, ending his life. As Caspian's head turned to the side in the last spasms of death, the smiling face of the priest was the last thing he saw.
~~~~~
Caspian came awake with a gasp - and to the horrible stench of dried blood. Lots of dried blood.
He opened his eyes to the surrounding darkness. The tiny light at the far end of one long tunnel was the only thing to convince him that he wasn't blind. It took him a few moments to remember what happened before Caspian sat up with a confused cry.
He should be dead.
He was in a grave, surrounded by a mass of dead bodies.
Caspian ran his hands over his naked body, only to find that there wasn't a gaping wound in neither his belly nor his neck. He was alive. Breathing. He shouldn't be.
With shaking legs, Caspian stood up and walked towards the light at the end of the corridor. Rocks were piled up in front of the entrance, blocking his way out, but they were small enough for him to move them. They thankfully hadn't started with effectively sealing the grave from intruders yet. The sunlight was blinding him once he got out of the grave and it took him a while to readjust. He didn't see the figure standing to the left of him.
"Welcome back, Caspian. Looks like I was right about you after all."
Caspian started at the words, the voice was oh-so-familiar. The prayer. Caspian turned his head to meet the smiling face of the priest. Kronos.