Lucien stood there, at the bars of the cell, long after his brother had left. The severity of their situation slowly starting to sink in. Of all his brothers, Titus was the one who always had the most amusement when it came to the time they were made to come here. Titus would often volunteer the most in participating down here. He had a way of getting into the minds of the people imprisoned down here.
Slowly, it started dawning on Lucien, the situation he and Elain had found themselves in. He was familiar with the sights of the walls, the sounds of the echos, the feel of the cold air. But what he wasn’t familiar with, was being on this side of the bars. Suddenly, he felt as though his reality, everything he had known, had been ripped out from under him.
Stumbling back, he was remembering what went on down here. Losing his balance, he fell back, landing on the ground, knowing even his mother didn’t know of this place.
“You need to learn how the Vanserra line has been keeping the fae in the Autumn Court in line for centuries. You’re ten now. Plenty old enough to start learning. But if you let your mother know, you will find your mother and yourself down here before she could think to reassure you.” a young Lucien walked, silently, next to his father.
He knew he shouldn’t speak out of turn with his father. No one in lesser status was to speak around his father out of turn. Even a birthday did not permit that. All Lucien had done was nod his head, letting his father know he had heard and understood him.
It wasn’t a long walk. Just down a hidden path off the two large maple trees behind the pond. There were small stones indicating where the path led, that were hidden mostly, but not completely, by leaves. After they got through the path, there was a cave, which Lucien didn’t expect to walk into, as he had always been told, by both parents, that he should a;ways be presentable as a High Lords son. And caves were dirty. They would drip water, and they were dark, and who knew what puddles he could slip in and land in mud. He was sure his father wouldn’t make him go in there.
But, much to Luciens surprise, his father walked in the cave, and with a moments hesitation, a moment he hoped he wouldn’t suffer from later, he continued to follow his father. Surprisingly, once he crossed the caves entrance, it was like he had walked into a house. It was clean, with walls, and had rugs. It was nothing like how a cave should be.
“This cave is heavily warded. No one will be able to find anyone in here. Once anyone comes in here, it is as if, we are no longer existing. Until we walk out again.” His father had explained.
Lucien was pulled from the memory when there was a hand gently placed on his arm. His first time here, it had started with him thinking his father was showing him a place where he did business. His father had done business here alright. Just not the kind where it involved books, or budgets, or paperwork.
“You look frightened.” Elain had said, noticing, how Lucien had come back to the present, she gently removed her hand, before moving to sit across from him. “Where did you go?”
Shaking his head, he tried to push himself back, knowing she normally would be doing what she could to keep the distance between them. “No, you- you don’t have to be kind to me. You don’t have to pretend. This is not going to be a good place. This is not going to be a fun time. For other of us. I will do what I can to keep Titus away from you. But you don’t have to make it harder for yourself, and force yourself to be kind to me.” He said.
Lucien saw some emotion flicker across Elains face, but he had looked away, refusing to allow himself to try and decipher what the emotion was.
“I’m not- Lucien, what- what happened here?” Elain asked.
Lucien couldn’t stop the dark chuckle, before his answer. “The question isn’t what happened. The question is what happens. Because I can assure you it was still going on until my fathers death, and will still continue with us. We are in the Vanserra private dungeons. Very separate from the normal dungeons, where prisoners are simply poisoned. Here, my father would use whatever means necessary to get answers. And yes, that would include torture.” Lucien explained.
Lucien could see the shock, and unrestrained fear transform Elains face.
“There are some fae, who earn the reputation of your human horror stories. Not all of us though. But some. My father, and some of my brothers, like Titus, would be a few.” Lucien explained. “Though they don’t go searching for humans. They would be fine doing monsterous things to fae as well.”
With that, Lucien began explaining his first experience with what went on here, one of the memories that would still occasionally haunt his nightmares.
He was then led down some stairs, only to see two cells. One of which had someone in it. The male was chained to a chair, he looked injured, and there was blood on the marble floors.
There was light everywhere down in the cells. Not a single area had shadows. Not a single area had darkness. He wondered how the male slept when it was so bright down here. Lucien knew he needed it to be dark so he could sleep.
“He’s hurt.” Lucien found himself whispering out loud, rather than in his thoughts, and knew he would suffer for that later. He wouldn’t at the moment though.
“Correct.” His father announced. “And he’s about to be even more hurt. You see Lucien, there are whispers of an uprising in an eastern area of the court. Our friend here knows the name of who is organizing this uprising. There is a way to run this Court Lucien. A way to make sure uprisings, or coups don’t happen. A way to keep everyone in line. Today you are here, to begin learning how the court is run.” His father explained to him. Lucien stood there, nodding in turn to show he was understanding.
“There will come a day, where I will die. I do not choose the next High Lord. If I did, it would certainly not be you. My magic chooses the next High Lord. It is for that reason, and that reason alone, that you are standing here, learning the ways of the Autumn Court. So you can stand there, and watch.” His father told him. “And I know you have your mothers heart, but you can shove that to the side, because there is no place for it here.”
For the next few hours, Lucien stood there, watching as his father would cut into the fae male, make deep cuts, shallow cuts, and pause between so many and ask questions. After not getting answers, Lucien watched in horror as his father started taking the faes limbs. In the end, the Male had lost both arms, and a leg before he had given an answer to his father. Lucien had felt like he would be sick. Standing there, being made to watch that.
Turning to face his son, Beron, looked at Lucien. “Now that I have the information I need, its just a shame for our friend here, that he’s too far gone. He wont be able to be healed. I think it is time for your birthday gift Lucien.”
Lucien watched as his father walked out of the cell, and grabbed something, before coming back in. He placed something in Lucien’s hands, looking at Lucien. “The male is in agony. He won’t make it, a healer wont be able to help him. Taking this ash wood dagger, and shoving it in his heart would truly be a mercy.” His father, said, guiding Lucien to stand in front of the male, placing Luciens hand with the dagger, over the males heart. “Put the male out of his misery. Give him that.”
“And you were only ten?” Elain asked, looking at Lucien, with a mix of heartbreak and shock. As if she didn’t want to believe that he had gone through such a thing. Such a traumatic experience.
“My tenth birthday, yes. It was just the beginning.” He didn’t tell her how after they had left the males body, his father had slapped Lucien across the face, for speaking out of turn, warning him against doing so again. “It was the only time I had been down here alone with my father though. Any other time, I had to appear as though I was growing to enjoy it. When really it repulsed me. I felt as though I would be sick each time.” Lucien explained. “The fact that I’m back down here, that we are down here, frightened is the least of what I’m feeling.” Lucien continued, looking over to the cell, as he heard footsteps approaching.
It was only a few seconds before Titus appeared, and with a tray of what appeared to be ingredients for a simple sandwich. “I brought food for the lady. I’d have prepared it, but, well, I cant say I know how. I’ve had people to do that for me my whole life. I’m sure you know how to?” Titus looked to Elain. Lucien instinctively made to move in front of Elain, trying to keep her out of his brothers view. “Oh don’t worry Lucien. I brought you some water.”
And with that, Lucien watched as Titus put the tray on the floor, and slid it under the small food slit of the bars. There was water for Lucien, an incredibly small glass of it, which appeared to have come from the bottom of the pond on the way here.
“Enjoy.” And with that, Titus had smiled, before leaving.
Lucien noticed that Elain looked to him, as in asking if she could trust the food. “His concern is more with me. You should be fine. You can eat.” Lucien said, trying not to let it show that he was hungry as well. He hadn’t had anything proper to eat for a few days.
After Elain had put together her sandwich and had began eating, Lucien noticed her looking over at him, and it was about the third time she looked at him that he realized exactly what it was Titus was trying to do.
“You haven’t eaten for as long as I have.” Elain mentioned, putting her food down. “You must be just as hungry as me.”
“I’m fine.” Lucien mentioned, refusing to look at Elain, fighting off that part of him that wanted to come free and answer differently.
“Here, you should finish the other half of this. It isn’t fair that I’m sitting here eating in front of you, when all you got was dirty water.” Elain held the rest of her sandwich out to Lucien, a look of sincerity on her face.
Lucien would kill Titus. His brother knew exactly what he was doing, and it while this wasn’t physical, this was a form of torture Lucien wasn’t sure how long he could hold out.
“I am not eating that.” Lucien answered, as his stomach growled a second later. He pushed himself up, and walked to the opposite end of the cell, and crouched down, fighting against the very part of his soul that screamed at him to go accept the food his mate had prepared for him, and then offered him.