I got a request for this and it reminded me I had written most of it. I'd forgotten how eager people were for this instalment so I'm sorry it took so long.
Gets a lil mature at the end but not explicit... Enjoy...
A long stretch of flat land laid out before me, I could see so far in the distance, past the green fields and villages dotted around, i could even just about make out tips of houses that made up the main town. Master Declan wouldn't let me go there, he said it was too busy and dangerous. I didn't complain, I had grown comfortable in his home. I'd experienced enough danger for a lifetime anyway.
I closed my eyes and with a deep reluctant sigh gave up fighting my mind as it drifted back to memories of before i became a slave. Back when I was free, when I didn't answer to anyone other than my Mam... other than maybe my little sisters at times. God did I miss them, It had always been my duty to protect them, i was supposed to be with them now, keeping them safe but one stupid mistake when I was 19 and now they could have been dead for all I knew.
Everytime that thought crossed my mind it was like a Boulder pressed down on my chest, not knowing if they were dead or alive, it was torture but I couldn't go look for them.... I couldn't go find them because the truth was... I didn't know how to survive in the new world. I didnt know how to do anything without a master. Without Dec. He'd been away on business for almost a month now, travelling through different the different zones and I was realising how dependant i was on him because of it.
Against my better judgement, I found myself missing him a lot and it was hard to sleep without him by my side. When he wasn't there, the nightmares came back.
"Ant! Ant where are you?!"
It was Stephen's job to look after me whilst Declan was away and i wasn't allowed out after dark. So as soon as the sun started to go down, he was there at the bottom of my tree shouting.
"Come on down Ant. It's time for bed."
"I know." I grunted, crawling along m my favourite branch and jumping to the ground right infront of Stephen's face.
"Dec's on the phone. Did you want to say goodnight?"
My eyes flickered to the phone, imagining the comfort I could get from just hearing his soft Geordie accent but I stubbornly put on a face of indifference.
Stephen sighed and held the phone back up to his ear, "Not tonight I'm afraid."
I started off straight towards the master bedroom which always felt far too big for just me. I walked ahead of Stephen but still listened into his conversation with Dec.
"No better."
...
"Well he's not being as destructive so that medicine the doctor prescribed must be working."
...
"I tried. He doesn't want to go outside the gates. Look I think you need to see for yourself."
My eyes rolled. Stephen thought there was something wrong with me even though I insisted I was fine. He thought it was trauma related whilst I'm pretty sure Dec thought it was to do with why he kept taking me to a his doctors before he left.
"Ant. Declan says you have to speak with him."
"No I don't." I grumbled, sitting onto the bed with my arms folded, "I'll speak to him when he gets here."
Stephen sighed and pulled the phone back to his ear, "Did you get that?"
...
The taller man looked at me, "Declan says he'll cancel your sausage roll order from the bakery."
My face dropped, sausage rolls were my favourite treat! The only thing the bakery made with reminded me of home! I couldn't loss them. I snatched the phone out of Stevies hand and pouted, "That's mean."
"Giving me the silent treatment is mean. What's going on baby? Stevie says you've not been yourself."
I glared off to the side. "What do you care."
"You aren't still mad I've gone away are you? Ant you know why I've had to."
"You said you'd be gone for 2 weeks. It's almost been 4 now."
"I know and I'm sorry but it's taken a little longer to complete this project than I thought, I'll try and be back as soon as I can though."
I had nothing to say to that, I didn't believe him, I pushed my toes into the carpet aggressively.
"Can you please just talk to me Anth? Tell me what's wrong?"
"I don't wanna." I mumbled, feeling like a child but every-time i thought about opening up it was like my chest zipped up suddenly, hiding the explanation even from me.
"Don't be like that Ant. You can talk to me."
I wanted to talk to him so badly, wanted to feel safe the way I didn't when he'd cuddle with me, but he wasn't even there, "Over the phone?" I criticised. "Look I'm Fine, I'll see youse when I get back."
"An—"
I hung up on him, something I was definitely not allowed to do but did anyway and chucked the phone immediately across the room. Wanting to be done with that whole situation because being mean to him weighed heavily on my shoulders with the guilt it caused.
I crawled under the sheets instantly, grabbing Dec's pillow and curling my body tight around it with a vulnerable sniff. I heard the door click open and knew it was Stephen coming to check up on me.
"What did Dec say?"
"Nothin'."
I heard him pick up his phone off the floor.
"You need to brush your teeth."
"Just go away Stevie." I mumbled, too tired to even properly argue with him.
Taking the hint, the other slave left and once the door was closed, i felt moisture prickle the corners of my eyes. I thought of my Mams face again,tried to imagine her arms around me and when that memory appeared too distant to cling to, I imagined Dec's in their place.
»»»»»»»»»»
For the first time in a month, I slept all through the night, the first time I woke up was when the sun came up. I felt the warmth of it gently glow over my sleeping features from the curtains I'd forgotten to close last night. I hummed in content at the feeling of being well rested and purred when the fingers in my hair moved to stretch gently behind my ears.
My eyes opened suddenly, only just realising why I'd felt so relaxed all night and comfortable enough to sleep. I turned immediately, jumping into Dec's arms and tackling him down into the messy sheets.
The Brown haired man laughed as he caught me and squeezed me tight, swaying us gently as I stole every bit of comfort from him I'd been missing this past month.
"Awe that's a nice welcome." He grinned, kissing my hair and wrapping his legs around my waist to connect us even more through the hug.
I really didn't want to let him go and it was so hard to say it.
"I missed youse so much." He hummed, unafraid to be affectionate with me, I sniffled my nose into the furthest depths of his cheek and smiled happily to myself when he laughed. Maybe I had missed him a little bit.
We stayed like that for a little bit until I became worried I was crushing his smaller form and crawled off him tilting my head with an attentive expression. "Youse didn't tell us youse were coming back."
"I wasn't. But think I'm needed a lot more here. I travelled all through the night."
I scooted up to lay my body out beside him and rested my head on his chest the way I'd been taught, Dec's hand went into my hair and I melted, unable to believe how much I'd missed that feeling.
"So I'm here now. Tell us what's had you moping about in your tree all day."
"I—" Why was this so hard to put into words, "I don't know."
"Okay that's alright ay? It's okay not to know. As long as you're being honest with me. Stevie says you can spend a whole day away from everyone. Now what do you do when you're up there?"
"I just... think I guess."
"Uhmmm about what?"
I hesitated but Dec's hand never faltered and his voice never betrayed a lie when he promised me, "You can trust me Anth, I only want to help you."
"Lots of things... you.... M-my past and then my childhood. T-then I start to think about my Mam and sisters. Start wondering if they're okay and I... I just feel..."
"Isolated?"
I nodded, agreeing but not being 100% sure that was how I was feeling, it felt more complex than that.
"I guess but at the same time... I don't want to go out and find new people. I-I just wanted youse or my family. B-but you weren't there."
"Awe I'm sorry baby. I promise I won't be leaving for that long again ay?" Dec used the hand in my hair to tilt my head back and place a gentle kiss on my lips. I sighed into it, really liking the feeling, especially after so long.
We hadn't been kissing much before he left, it took me a long time to be comfortable enough to kiss him but after a while, Dec started using it as a reward for good behaviour or to comfort me and I felt genuinely happy to have his lips on mine.
I accepted his apology easily and nuzzled back down into our cuddles, almost forgetting it was morning and not time for bed.
»»»»»»»»»»
Dec being back early from his trip meant he had a lot of remote working to do, so we spent a lot of time in his office. I had a bunch of cushions bunched up in the corner of the room and would curl up there for a couple of hours snoozing there in the sun before getting bored.
"I'm gonna go find Stevie." I sat up.
"He's gone out on an assignment for me."
I pouted softly, "Okay I'm going to make some food."
"You're still banned from the kitchen after your cake incident. Merrill doesn't want you anywhere near her nice clean work surfaces and non stick pans."
"I'll go for a walk in the forests then."
"No I have some village men doing conservation work. They'll be chopping down trees and things. It's not safe."
I huffed. "Fine... im going for a swim in the pool. Is that allowed, master?"
Declan's green eyes flickered up over the tops of his glasses to give me a disapproving look, "Don't give me that sass you know why you aren't allowed to do some things. It's to protect you."
I rolled my eyes and turned sharply on my heel to leave his office. Slamming the door behind me.
The pool water was nice and cool, a relief since the weather was hot. I burned up some of my energy swimming laps and when my body felt achy, I rolled into my back, floating on the surface of the water.
Times like these reminded me of everything I had to be grateful for and how much I owed Dec. There was a time I couldn't stretch my limbs outside of a metal cage let alone splash around in a giant pool in the sun. I'd been given the perfect place to rehabilitate and heal from my past and I had healed so much already in just a few months, sometimes I forgot where I started. How bad it was before I was rescued.
I didn't hear when Dec stepped out into the back yard but felt his presence as he crouched down at the edge of the pool. I turned to focus on him, how he dipped his fingers dipped the cool water, pushing it around thoughtfully.
"You've finished work?" I perked up hopefully at the thought.
"For now." He smiled, standing up and wandering over to the loungers. He was dressed in a smart white shirt and back trousers, i thought he must be hot in what he was wearing but his only sign of cooling down was to roll up his sleeves.
I wasn't body conscious anymore, Id gained fat and muscle back onto my lean figure and was done being ashamed of my scars. I felt healthy for the first time in a long time. I jumped out of the pool, walking over to my Master as he watched me quietly.
"You look amazing." He hummed, his small hand taking mine when I came to stand next to him.
Dec's verbal affections always made me embarrassed so I went to go find a towel and dried off before pulling a red material around my waist. It was basically a skirt for men and was standard summer wear for a pleasure slave. I had a lot more freedoms now but there were a few things Declan used his status to enforce.
Me walking around shirtless was one of those things.
"What are we doing today?" I asked, sitting cross legged on the lounger beside him, usually when he wasn't working he'd organise things for us to do together to keep me occupied.
"You should have told me sooner about missing your family."
My face fell. "Why does it matter?" A small smile lifted onto my lips, "I have you now."
"As sweet as that is, I can't fill the hole of a family. You should tell me things, they matter because I have sources. I found you didn't I?"
"Youse found me by accident." I huffed, "slaves don't use their names when they are moved around."
"Aye. You were off books, i didn't find you through name but I did find you deliberately." My master stood up and stroked a loving hand through my hair, when I looked in his eyes I actually saw tears there, "You were going to be put down Anth. Do you know how hard it is to adopt slaves in that position? If there's one thing I can do with my power it's find people."
I glared off to the side, tears in my eyes.
"I don't want my hopes up."
"That's understandable, but completely pointless because I've located sister, getting to her will take a little more time and your Mam is proving more difficult to find."
"Hold on—wait—you've found my sister! My sister Sarha? Where is she? Is she okay? c-can I see her? Can we go get her?"
His expression dulled, "I'm afraid It's not that simple but I'm trying everything I can I promise."
"Whys it not simple? She's in the communities isn't she? She's underground if you know where that is we can—"
"She's not underground Ant." He interrupted and the gravity in his voice was enough to sober me up.
Looking into his intelligent eyes, I immediately thought the worst and I stepped away, shaking my head in disbelief, emotion swelling up in my throat making it hard to breath, "N-no Dec she's not.. I-I— she's not she can't be, shes s-suppose to be s-safe she's—"
Before I could the panic could overwhelm me, Dec pressed himself up against my chest, his hands holding my face still and gently stroking my cheeks, forcing me to calm down. "Hey shush, we don't know anything for sure yet okay? She's probably fine. I just haven't figured out a way to get to her yet."
"W-why not? You said you could get anyone... please Dec I'm begging you—"
"I have my men on it but.."
"...but? Please Declan this is my sister." I was naturally stubborn and I certainly wasn't one to beg, but when it came to my sister I was truly at his mercy and didn't hesitate to fall to his knees, i bowed my head down and my hands clawing at his trousers, "Please I'll do anything you want—"
Instead of abusing the power he had, the young lord knelt down in front of me, taking my hands and kissing my head, "I'm trying ay? I promise I am trying but Ant you need to understand... shes not in my territory."
"B-but you do business in the other zones right? You got me from the 5th— You just came back from visiting the 4th you can just ask—"
"She's with the 1st Ant."
I stopped and fell dead silent. It dawned on me just how much I'd been asking and I refrained from pushing him any further on the topic.
Declan sighed, probably seeing the hopelessness on my face and he pulled me into a hug, "It's not the end of the world okay? I will find a way to get to her. You've just gotta be patient."
I nodded, my tears damping his smart shirt as I snuggled into his collar bone some more for comfort. "W-what of my mother?"
"We don't know. I suspect she's still free as the older generation often are. Perhaps your colony has survived, or perhaps she's settled. If it's the latter this shouldn't take long. The former is a little more tricky but Steve's working on it as we speak."
"I can remember a few things about my home... l-land marks and things... I-I Just don't know where it is. We weren't supposed to."
"Any information you can give me will help Anthony." He kissed my cheek, "There's no use getting worked up about it though ay? You know I do everything I can for you."
I felt a little guilt in my chest. He was right, he spoilt me endlessly with affections, food and toys. Beside his business as a ruler he always frequently rescued abused slaves and brought them to his home. For me to be underestimate him was awfully ungrateful. I should have known I could take his word, after all he'd never lied, not once.
Declan shifted uncomfortably on his knees and kissed my temple once more. "Come on, we can't stay down here all day. Do you think you can sit still whilst I work now?"
I knew he was referring to my storming off in a huff earlier on and I blushed, following along close behind him as he entered his large mansion and started towards his office.
We passed people in the halls, all of who waved happily to Declan and looked concerned at me. I rubbed my tears self consciously and closed the door to the brown haired man's office as soon as we were both inside.
Declan went to his office chair and I went to my box of toys shifting through for something to make me feel better.
A few months ago Declan had taken me to a village doctor.
Doctors in most territories these days practiced was was called the new-medicine, it was much more cruel -discriminatory way of treating people. Often a way of banishing those that didn't fit into the other 5's ideals of what their work force should look like. Declan's doctors however preserved what they could of the old-ways and often those banished for being weak journeyed far to Dec's lands to be treated and without prosecution. It wasn't something Dec liked to advertise however, all their medical supplies were internally sourced and books that contained the old-ways were kept locked up, only accessible by those with Dec's given permission.
I was taken to the doctors not because Dec was concerned for my health, but because the more I recovered, the more chaos I'd been causing in his home. I'd knock things over, fiddling with things till they'd break. I'd get carried away playing with the children and accidentally knock something valuable over or break a door climbing on it. Dec always seemed forgiving, until I started finding new ways to entertain myself, I'd learn to bake and destroy his cook's kitchen, I'd go out chasing a butterfly and accidentally drench his gardener in the pond. Declan had began getting regular complaints and so he decided to investigate the cause of the problem.
The Lady who saw to us said I had a special brain condition which meant I was hyperactive. She said I was simply bored and that my brain was looking for stimulation. She gave Declan a few suggestions on how to help when he was too busy to keep me occupied but by that point in the conversation, I'd stopped concentrating.
Whatever was said resulted in my toy box. Basically Dec had gotten me lots of toys from the old world and I'd refused to touch them for a long time cause it was humiliating. Eventually though, when Dec was working long hours, I'd started to fixate on a few of the toys that were more like puzzles. Some of them were quite tricky and I could sit for hours just trying to sort out the colours on my little fidget cube.
I was looking for my game boy, but it wasn't in my box I couldn't think where I'd left it. Declan was already scribbling away and he frowned, as if reading my mind he murmured gently, "I'm charging the batteries Anth, you always forget to."
I made an 'O' with my lips and moved around his desk. There wasn't a lot of energy in the world anymore, but Dec's home was run off the river that flowed into his gardens. It wasn't a perfect system, it could be a bit touch and go when we had particularly hot spells and the water level fell but it was enough.
I found my Gameboy and it's batteries hooked up and disconnected them. I went to move back to my sitting area but Declan clicked his fingers, signalling he wanted me beside him. I dragged my cushions over and leant my back on the draws of his office desk, my hair within reach for him to shift through absently as he read through a few documents.
I was adequately entertained and extremely relaxed as Dec's fingers drew lazy circles through my jet black strands. Suddenly, his phone was ringing and I looked up from Tetris, tilting my head curiously. The older man answered but didn't say anything and waited, his hand stopping in my hair.
"I thought as much." He finally grunted, his hand started up again and it became much more difficult to make out the voice on the other end of the line. It sounded like a woman, I wasn't good with accents but possibly Irish, those types of accents you only heard in the older generation, men and women who grew up by the old ways.
"Aye Yes. He wants me to ask him myself until I'm actually on his doorstep."
Declan lightly turned in his chair and looked down at me, his hand moving from my hair to cup my smooth shaven cheek. I lifted my head into the touch.
"It's for someone very important to me."
I figured he was doing business to get my sister back and I shuffled in closer to him gratefully. The Lady over the phone must've said something amusing because Dec chuckled and his hand left my skin as he leant back to continue his conversation.
Dec was an extremely powerful man, the scope of which I couldn't quite comprehend, he spoke to the woman over the phone as an equal so she must've been one of the 6th. It was neither the 1st or the 3rd, they were both men. I managed to peace together some of what was going on. It seemed my master had called in a favour, one he didn't think was going to be successful but worth the try and predictably she'd been unsuccessful in fulfilling the favour.
It didn't sound like I'd be getting my sister back without some kind of a fight and I felt my heart ache at the thought. Hadn't we gone through enough as a family?
»»»»»»»»»»
Dec continued working till late. Unsupervised, I'd skipped dinner that evening and Dec was angry when he found out which was hypocrisy because he too had skipped his meal. I told him this and when he realised I was right, he deflated to move about his night routine.
Eventually he was falling into his bed where I felt I belonged now and I opened my arms for him to shuffle inside. I squeezed him tightly.
"No good news?" I mumbled and the brown haired man sighed, shaking his head.
"No." His Hand went to my chest hair and traced his fingers over the lines of captivity marring my skin. "I have half a mind to just steal your sister back. As soon as she's across my border there's nothing they could do. We'd be out of their jurisdiction." He let out a frustrated breath and pushed his nose into my neck, "I can't risk a war though."
"I know, it's fine you're really smart, you'll figure something out. I know you will."
I didn't want him to get stressed about it, because seeing him upset made me indescribably sad.
Dec just breathed softly into my neck, his body was so tense and mostly on instinct, I lifted my hands to his shoulders, massaging the taunt muscles into firm circular motions. The smaller man groaned in content and gripped my bicep to feel as it worked on releasing the pressure on his burdened shoulders.
For a long time we'd only advanced as far to hold each other at night. Being tucked up into his arms, having him fending away the night-terrors was something I'd come to crave each time he went away. It never occurred to me there was a way to pay him back for all the good things he made me feel, but as he moaned along to having my hands on his skin, I unlocked a new purpose. Something I didn't think I'd ever be comfortable with, I'd come to the conclusion a little while ago now that I loved him and I think after having his hands on me so frequently, I'd become desensitised to the anxiety that Initially came with it.
This Man, my master, would bring me the world to keep me happy, all he'd ever asked for in return was my company, despite wanting more. As i came to the realisation that I was finally ready, Dec remained completely clueless, my hands had began working down the muscles on his back and he whimpering now; lost in his own little world and purring softly, "Umm yea... so good Anth."
Feeling he was relaxed enough, I tipped him off my chest, letting him fall back onto the bed so that I could hover over him as he looked up at me in shock.
Ignoring his surprise, I leaned in for a slow kiss, for the first time since he'd rescued me i was initiating the intimacy. As soon as Declan recovered his senses, he was right back at the top of his game, slipping his tongue between my lips at the first chance he got and sliding his hands up my stomach, squeezing my skin and humming into the kissed.
When I pulled away to recover from the spinning in my head, Dec was panting up at me, his hands stroking my face and over my hair, studying my expression. I couldn't meet his gaze, I kept my head down, trying to wrap my head around what I was feeling.
We'd kissed before. Or he'd kissed me, but it wasn't like this. This was so much more passionate and meaningful. I leaned in for another try and Dec grinned against my lips this time, he slung his arms around my strong shoulders and tilted his head, his lips closing hungrily over my own as this time, I pushed my tongue into his mouth, finding it was warm and pleasant place to explore. He tasted like chocolate cake- likely what he snacked on instead of dinner.
I was just getting into my second try and this time, Dec was pulling away, holding my head up by my hair and looking into my eyes, confused, "Anth. Do you feel like you have to do this?"
My eyes wide and lustful, I shook my head fast. "Not at all... I-I like this. I want this." I stressed as I pressed my hips down into his and felt his excitement grow against my thigh.
Grinding back up into me, Declan grinned and kissed me again, his hands constantly grooming my hair because he knew how it calmed me in stressful situations.
"I thought you didn't want to be a pleasure slave." He teased into my ear, biting the lobe and sinking lower to the spot beneath my ear, biting down hard until I was groaning at the sensitivity of the nerves he was teasing.
"I don't." I huffed, trying to order my thoughts but my brain failed me and my tongue slipped into honesty, "But maybe just for one night..."
Dec flipped us, with strength i didn't expected from him and he pushed his leg between my thighs, grinding down as I hardened against him, my head spinning at the friction. He just smirked in response, clearly pleased, "You'd let me own you for a night?"
I nodded quickly, slamming my eyes shut as I saw stars against my eyelids but I was still so scared deep down.
"I like that you're so stubborn." He mumbled against my skin, kissing down my collar bone and the pit in my stomach turned to yearning. "But I don't want you for just a night. So I will wait."
He pulled back and my jaw dropped, panting, waiting? He was waiting for what? I said I wanted it? He'd been waiting for so long for me to say yes and now he didn't want me?
I sat up as he got comfortable on his own side of the bed, I must've looked a panting mess.
"Get some sleep pet, I suspect we could be doing a bit of travelling tomorrow."
"I thought we were..." the words dried up in my throat, I felt cheated. It took a lot for me to get to a point where I could admit that I wanted intimacy from him. That's what he'd been conditioning me for and now he was leaving me wanting. It felt like he was punishing me and I glared down at his smug face.
He was laid out, hands behind his head, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "What? You thought I'd jump your bones the second you wanted it?"
Now be was teasing me. I growled lowly, "You've wanted to bed me since I arrived."
Dec chuckled and held open his arms, that was a command I was trained to obey end did so with a silent huff. I rested my head on his chest as he petted my hair and mumbled, "you're not wrong baby. But you see I also want to bed you every day for as long as we are able. So I will wait until you're begging me for it."
He stole a kiss from my gobsmacked expression and reached to turn off the light beside his bed, his arms curled around my waist, holding me like a child would a teddy.
There will be a part 4....