Break a Butterfly

Mea Culpa

"Yuuri? What's going on? Are you still there?"

"Huh?" Yuuri blinked, heart still aflutter. "Oh yes, sorry." He diverted his attention away from the doorway where Viktor had just vanished through.

Phichit laughed.

"You're acting so strange."

"Sorry, I just..." Yuuri trailed off, not knowing where to begin his explanation. "I don't even know where to start," he explained sheepishly.

"Start with who this 'Viktor' guy is!" Phichit replied with eager impatience.

"Ah, okay..." Yuuri gulped. "Do you remember the fairy that I was looking for?"

"Yes?" Phichit asked, as if he was on the edge of his seat.

"Well... I found him and bought him. He lives with me now."

"What???"

Yuuri laughed nervously, face growing hot and neck feeling prickly. Oh, his friend probably thought he was a pervert or something now.

"Yuuuuuri," Phichit whined. "You never tell me anything!"

"I'm sorry, I just forget."

"Hmph," Phichit grumbled. Yuuri could almost see Phichit's playful pout. There was a moment of silence. "Well?" Phichit prodded.

"Oh, I-" Yuuri took in a deep breath, then exhaled. "Viktor is so amazing and kind. We've been spending a lot of time together."

"Hmm," Phichit said with a suggestive air.

"No!" Yuuri squeaked. "Not in that way." Oh stars, he could die of shame. Phichit laughed, voice light with mirth.

"I know, I'm sorry. Continue."

"He's been so sad lately, and he finally told me what is wrong. His close friend is still being owned by Augustus Winthrop."

Phichit gasped at this.

"Oh my goodness, that man?"

Yuuri's blood turned cold in his veins.

"Yes." He gripped the telephone more tightly, heart in his throat.

"There have been... rumors. Most nobles with a bone of sympathy in their body don't rent fairies from him anymore."

Yuuri swallowed dryly.

"Why?" he asked with a terrible twist in his belly. He had a pretty good idea that people had heard about how Augustus treated his slaves.

"Now, I'm not one to gossip, but..." Phichit lowered his voice. "I heard from Lady Braebrook that Augustus feeds his slaves rotten meat as punishment and keps them locked in his basement."

Tears welled up in Yuuri's eyes as he thought about his poor Viktor. He knew that he'd been treated awfully, but hearing some of the abusive acts he had undergone said so blatantly was difficult to hear. "I've heard all sorts of other things too, but it's hard to tell what's truth and what's not." Anger and heartbreak bubbled up within Yuuri as stark images of Viktor when he'd first been bought flashed in his mind. The emaciated frame, the fearful eyes, the infected finger, the pus-filled blisters peppering his chest...

"I even heard that Augustus cut off one of his slaves' fingers and sold him to a whorehouse just for looking too long at a party guest."

Yuuri gasped sharply, and a violet tsunami of horror engulfed him. His vision began to swim, and he steadied himself with a hand on the table. That meant...