Blue Raspberry 26, Green Tea 10, Watermelon 23
Author: Casey
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy universe, Post NIEE
Challenges: Blue Raspberry 26 (brainwashing), Green Tea 10 (summer) & Watermelon 23 (watch your step)
Toppings & Extras: None.
Word Count: 1,240
Rating: PG-13 (Warning: child abuse)
Summary: Dean faces the consequences of his escape attempt
Notes: Very, very early on in Dean and Sage’s relationship (and the beginning of their friendship). During Paths, which has suddenly decided to speak to me with a vengeance for the first time in, oh, 7-8 years.
“Why?” he demanded, pressing his hand tighter on his badly bleeding arm, trying to staunch the flow. It didn’t help that he was already light headed from even his minor exertion, thanks to Vladimir’s tender mercies.
There was something momentarily wild in his cousin’s eyes as she hissed, “Don’t you dare screw this up for me.”
“Screw this…Gods’ Breath, Sage,” Dean exploded, “this is as screwed up as it gets. Don’t you understand what Vladimir is doing to you? To me? To Renie?”
She took a step back now, lowering the knife she clenched tightly in her right hand - the same one she’d just used to stab him in the arm only a minute before.
“This isn’t right and, if you can’t understand that, you deserve to go down just like he does.”
For a moment, the pair stared at each other through the same blue eyes. “Dean, I…” Sage began, knife clattering to the floor out of numbed fingers.
“There he is!”
Before either could react, Vladimir’s men had appeared at both ends of the hallway and advanced quickly. They surrounded the duo, wrenching both Dean’s arms up behind his back, ignoring his whimper of pain as it pulled on not only the stab wound but slightly older bruises. Within seconds, his wrists were tightly bound with rope. He never took his eyes off his cousin, struggling not to give into despair.
She didn’t move either until Tourn sauntered into view behind her, squeezing her shoulder. “Well done, Sage.”
She flinched, gaze dropping.
Tourn stepped up to Dean, staring down at the boy. “You are more trouble then you’re worth,” he said scornfully, almost casually digging a thumb into his bleeding arm.
Dean squirmed to try and get away, but the other men held him fast. “Stop,” he managed, hating himself for it, “please, just stop.”
The man did, examining his blood covered finger for a moment before smearing it across Dean’s cheek. “You’re lucky the boss thinks you’re worth it.” Tourn then grabbed his chin, forcing it up until they were eye to eye. “Who is the boss around here, Dean?”
He was still furious and his answer showed it, despite his better judgment. “Vladimir Opalin. My shit crazed uncle.”
The resulting backhand snapped his head as far to the side as it would go, causing stars to dance across his vision. “I’ll give you one more chance. Who is the boss around here, Dean?”
The boy dropped his gaze, furiously blinking back tears of pain. He would not give Tourn that satisfaction. Not again. Not even if he gave in on everything else. “Uncle Vlad,” he mumbled. He wanted to curl up and die for giving in. His dad would never forgive him for not being strong enough.
“That’s better. And what does the boss do to people who don’t follow the rules?”
“Punish them,” he recited, still without eye contact. “The rules are there for our safety.”
“And what have you done?”
“Break the rules.”
“So what should he do to you?”
Dean bit his lip, trying to resist the answer that had been drilled into his head.
Tourn snatched his chin and dragged his gaze back up. “So what should he do to you?”
“Punish me,” he whispered.
The glee on the man’s face made Dean’s insides squirm. “Sage?”
“Yes?” his cousin said, voice expressionless. Dean couldn’t see her around his bulk.
“Why don’t you carry out Dean’s punishment? You’ve already started nicely on his arm, although your father would prefer him in one piece.”
“No!” Sage said, the word seemingly startled out of her. “No, Tourn, I can’t, I…”
“What do the rules say?” Tourn asked, gaze boring into Dean’s.
“Tourn-” Sage started, but the man just gave Dean a vicious shake and she cut off.
“Dean?”
He swallowed, fighting against the pounding headache that he never seemed to escape any more. “No one is allowed to refuse giving punishment to those who deserve it. To give punishment is an honor.” He would not believe these things. He would say them, but he would not believe them, no matter how many times he heard them and read them and spoke them. No matter what.
“The rules,” Sage began.
“The rules apply to everyone, no matter how they learn them,” Tourn said firmly. “You know them, don’t you?”
“Yes,” she murmured.
Tourn now turned and grabbed Dean’s shoulder, thrusting him over to his cousin. “Then you know your duty.”
She steadied him automatically, surprisingly careful not to touch the injury she’d inflicted. “Fine, I’ll do it now.”
“I’m sure you’ll find something useful in the punishment room.”
Torture chamber, Dean thought in resignation, just call it what it is.
“I’m sure I will too, but I don’t need an audience,” Sage snapped and Dean, who kept his head down, heard the scuffing of feet and became aware of the fact, slowly, that they were alone. Sage spun him to face down the corridor and he braced himself for a shove but instead, a moment later, the ropes loosened and his hands were free. He brought them around his front, briefly rubbing feeling back into them before clasping at the still bleeding wound and looking up at his cousin in confusion. “You’ll never escape that way,” she said, “even if I hadn’t been here.”
“What…?” he asked.
She looked away. “Come on, it’s time you went back to your cell.”
“What are you doing?” he demanded with a bit more heat. A small part of him asked why he was protesting and he shuddered as another small part told him it was because he deserved to be punished for breaking the rules.
“I’m taking you back to your cell,” she said roughly, snagging his good arm and giving him a tug.
He dug his feet in. “You’re going to get in trouble.”
“That’s my problem, Deany, not yours.”
Fear struggled up his throat and now burst out: “I’m going to get in trouble too.”
She turned on him furiously. “You think you aren’t already? As soon as my father gets wind of this, no matter what I do or do not do, you’re in trouble. He will not stop shoving his gods be damned rules down your throat until you fully believe them, Dean, and don’t just recite them. Until he’s beaten and coerced every last ounce of resistance out of you and our cousin.”
Dean sagged, allowing himself to be pulled a couple paces before either of them even realized they were moving. “That’s why I have to get out of here. I have to find help, because I can’t free me, Renie and Connor.”
She stared at him with a strange expression he couldn’t read. “You have to be smarter about it then just running for the door.”
He frowned, even as his vision swooped, momentarily exposing two Sage’s. Blood loss, he thought critically. “What do you mean?”
“He’s only barely started with Renie,” she said, which seemed to have nothing to do with anything, “just starting to memorize the rules.”
Just the word sent the lines spinning through Dean’s head in perfect order.
Sage let out a breath. “C’mon, we’ll stop by the punishment room on the way and get you some bandages for that cut.”
For the second time in a very short amount of time, he found himself staring at his cousin and asking: “Why?”
“You were wrong, in a way. It can get more screwed up than this. But you were more right then wrong,” she said.
Strangely, just like that, Dean realized he had a new cousin.
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy universe, Post NIEE
Challenges: Blue Raspberry 26 (brainwashing), Green Tea 10 (summer) & Watermelon 23 (watch your step)
Toppings & Extras: None.
Word Count: 1,240
Rating: PG-13 (Warning: child abuse)
Summary: Dean faces the consequences of his escape attempt
Notes: Very, very early on in Dean and Sage’s relationship (and the beginning of their friendship). During Paths, which has suddenly decided to speak to me with a vengeance for the first time in, oh, 7-8 years.
“Why?” he demanded, pressing his hand tighter on his badly bleeding arm, trying to staunch the flow. It didn’t help that he was already light headed from even his minor exertion, thanks to Vladimir’s tender mercies.
There was something momentarily wild in his cousin’s eyes as she hissed, “Don’t you dare screw this up for me.”
“Screw this…Gods’ Breath, Sage,” Dean exploded, “this is as screwed up as it gets. Don’t you understand what Vladimir is doing to you? To me? To Renie?”
She took a step back now, lowering the knife she clenched tightly in her right hand - the same one she’d just used to stab him in the arm only a minute before.
“This isn’t right and, if you can’t understand that, you deserve to go down just like he does.”
For a moment, the pair stared at each other through the same blue eyes. “Dean, I…” Sage began, knife clattering to the floor out of numbed fingers.
“There he is!”
Before either could react, Vladimir’s men had appeared at both ends of the hallway and advanced quickly. They surrounded the duo, wrenching both Dean’s arms up behind his back, ignoring his whimper of pain as it pulled on not only the stab wound but slightly older bruises. Within seconds, his wrists were tightly bound with rope. He never took his eyes off his cousin, struggling not to give into despair.
She didn’t move either until Tourn sauntered into view behind her, squeezing her shoulder. “Well done, Sage.”
She flinched, gaze dropping.
Tourn stepped up to Dean, staring down at the boy. “You are more trouble then you’re worth,” he said scornfully, almost casually digging a thumb into his bleeding arm.
Dean squirmed to try and get away, but the other men held him fast. “Stop,” he managed, hating himself for it, “please, just stop.”
The man did, examining his blood covered finger for a moment before smearing it across Dean’s cheek. “You’re lucky the boss thinks you’re worth it.” Tourn then grabbed his chin, forcing it up until they were eye to eye. “Who is the boss around here, Dean?”
He was still furious and his answer showed it, despite his better judgment. “Vladimir Opalin. My shit crazed uncle.”
The resulting backhand snapped his head as far to the side as it would go, causing stars to dance across his vision. “I’ll give you one more chance. Who is the boss around here, Dean?”
The boy dropped his gaze, furiously blinking back tears of pain. He would not give Tourn that satisfaction. Not again. Not even if he gave in on everything else. “Uncle Vlad,” he mumbled. He wanted to curl up and die for giving in. His dad would never forgive him for not being strong enough.
“That’s better. And what does the boss do to people who don’t follow the rules?”
“Punish them,” he recited, still without eye contact. “The rules are there for our safety.”
“And what have you done?”
“Break the rules.”
“So what should he do to you?”
Dean bit his lip, trying to resist the answer that had been drilled into his head.
Tourn snatched his chin and dragged his gaze back up. “So what should he do to you?”
“Punish me,” he whispered.
The glee on the man’s face made Dean’s insides squirm. “Sage?”
“Yes?” his cousin said, voice expressionless. Dean couldn’t see her around his bulk.
“Why don’t you carry out Dean’s punishment? You’ve already started nicely on his arm, although your father would prefer him in one piece.”
“No!” Sage said, the word seemingly startled out of her. “No, Tourn, I can’t, I…”
“What do the rules say?” Tourn asked, gaze boring into Dean’s.
“Tourn-” Sage started, but the man just gave Dean a vicious shake and she cut off.
“Dean?”
He swallowed, fighting against the pounding headache that he never seemed to escape any more. “No one is allowed to refuse giving punishment to those who deserve it. To give punishment is an honor.” He would not believe these things. He would say them, but he would not believe them, no matter how many times he heard them and read them and spoke them. No matter what.
“The rules,” Sage began.
“The rules apply to everyone, no matter how they learn them,” Tourn said firmly. “You know them, don’t you?”
“Yes,” she murmured.
Tourn now turned and grabbed Dean’s shoulder, thrusting him over to his cousin. “Then you know your duty.”
She steadied him automatically, surprisingly careful not to touch the injury she’d inflicted. “Fine, I’ll do it now.”
“I’m sure you’ll find something useful in the punishment room.”
Torture chamber, Dean thought in resignation, just call it what it is.
“I’m sure I will too, but I don’t need an audience,” Sage snapped and Dean, who kept his head down, heard the scuffing of feet and became aware of the fact, slowly, that they were alone. Sage spun him to face down the corridor and he braced himself for a shove but instead, a moment later, the ropes loosened and his hands were free. He brought them around his front, briefly rubbing feeling back into them before clasping at the still bleeding wound and looking up at his cousin in confusion. “You’ll never escape that way,” she said, “even if I hadn’t been here.”
“What…?” he asked.
She looked away. “Come on, it’s time you went back to your cell.”
“What are you doing?” he demanded with a bit more heat. A small part of him asked why he was protesting and he shuddered as another small part told him it was because he deserved to be punished for breaking the rules.
“I’m taking you back to your cell,” she said roughly, snagging his good arm and giving him a tug.
He dug his feet in. “You’re going to get in trouble.”
“That’s my problem, Deany, not yours.”
Fear struggled up his throat and now burst out: “I’m going to get in trouble too.”
She turned on him furiously. “You think you aren’t already? As soon as my father gets wind of this, no matter what I do or do not do, you’re in trouble. He will not stop shoving his gods be damned rules down your throat until you fully believe them, Dean, and don’t just recite them. Until he’s beaten and coerced every last ounce of resistance out of you and our cousin.”
Dean sagged, allowing himself to be pulled a couple paces before either of them even realized they were moving. “That’s why I have to get out of here. I have to find help, because I can’t free me, Renie and Connor.”
She stared at him with a strange expression he couldn’t read. “You have to be smarter about it then just running for the door.”
He frowned, even as his vision swooped, momentarily exposing two Sage’s. Blood loss, he thought critically. “What do you mean?”
“He’s only barely started with Renie,” she said, which seemed to have nothing to do with anything, “just starting to memorize the rules.”
Just the word sent the lines spinning through Dean’s head in perfect order.
Sage let out a breath. “C’mon, we’ll stop by the punishment room on the way and get you some bandages for that cut.”
For the second time in a very short amount of time, he found himself staring at his cousin and asking: “Why?”
“You were wrong, in a way. It can get more screwed up than this. But you were more right then wrong,” she said.
Strangely, just like that, Dean realized he had a new cousin.