Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

I'm soooo sorry it took months to update, but with the site move, my work, an innumerable other reasons, I have had not the time, nor the will to write more. However, for any faithful readers out there who have been itching for me to update, this is for you. And it'd be great if I actually got some reviews this time.

Chapter Ten. Warnings: Angst, torture.

Both slaves were terrified of what they would be subjected to. Leon had seen how angry Hadrian was about their attempted escape and he dare not think about how much he was going to hurt when Hadrian was finished with them. The master was so angry with them, he could only imagine what the male could and would do to them and Leon was reminded of the piercing in his nipple, which he absently fingered through the material of his robe. His free hand was clasped tightly in his fellow slave’s.

They were prodded along the corridor by several guards wielding thick wooden clubs to prevent the pair trying to escape their punishment, each one wearing a smug expression, as if they knew what Hadrian had planned for them. Whether they did or not didn’t matter, they knew that the boys would be hurting soon, and no doubt, their cries of pain would be heard up and down the corridors.

As usual, they were stopped outside the master’s door until they were granted entry, but what really threw Leon was how calm Hadrian looked, lounging comfortably on the bed, fully clothed in his finery and drawing meaningless circles in the sheets beside him. The last time he had been so calm after being so outraged was when Rafael refused to submit and Leon had been punished for it.

“What’s wrong boys? You look like you’re terrified of me. I haven’t done anything to scare you that badly yet have I?” Hadrian purred from the bed, beckoning the two boys forwards as he sat up and adjusted his robe so that it showed no creases or folds where he had been laying on it. Each action was smooth and calculated, as if Hadrian was thoroughly enjoying making the boys wait, watching them squirm and fidget as the master debated over what to do with them.

Leon shuffled sideways a little so that he was squashed against Rafael’s side, apparently very reluctant to part from his companion, but predictably, Hadrian noticed how the boy was trying to draw comfort from the older slave, and he set about splitting them up immediately.

“Okay then boys, I want one of you on the bed face down. And the other I want over by the wall where the boy was the other day. I let you decide between yourselves who goes where.” He purred, arm sweeping the room to gesture to the two chosen locations. Leon looked terrified about being back on the wall, the memory of being tortured over there still all too clear in his mind, so he looked pleadingly at Raf who didn’t like the idea of staying against the wall either, but he couldn’t deny the boy when he looked so desperate to be away from the wall.

Giving a slight nod, Raf consented to letting the blonde stay on the bed, although the face down aspect of it made him very suspicious about what was about to come to pass. Leon wanted to go on the bed though, so he took a few hesitant steps towards the wall where the ribbons were dangling harmlessly down the wall while Leon shuffled reluctantly towards the bed and the sadistic being perched on the edge of it.

Hadrian’s disarming smile melted into a cruel smirk as he watched the blonde pleading with the older male to be allowed to stay away from the wall, seeing as he didn’t want to go through such pain again. However, the master thought that perhaps he could be especially cruel and pick on the blonde again, prove to him that no matter where in the room he was positioned, he was still going to be put through more than a normal person should be. Although, Hadrian did want to do a bit more with the spunky dark haired slave who so seemed to enjoy being rebellious and difficult. It was always much more gratifying to break a rebellious slave; see their will to escape break under the torture.

The closer he got to the bed, the more his heart filled with dread. He was absolutely terrified of what was about to happen to them, after all, there was probably no limit to the things that Hadrian could do to them, he had all the resources he could ever need at his disposal. With each shaky step, Leon felt as though he was walking closer to the very edge of his sanity, until he reached the bed and slowly lowered himself onto his stomach and he closed his eyes tightly. The younger slave highly doubted he’d be able to endure another night of torture from Hadrian; after all, he wasn’t strong enough to endure such brutality.

The room was so tense, both slaves were emanating waves of nervousness and uncertainty and more than a little fear, and Hadrian was enjoying every second of it. Rafael watched from the wall as their master slowly crawled up the little slave’s body and licked a wet trail up the youth’s cheek, making the boy cringe in disgust. Raf didn’t want to get Leon into any more trouble than he already had, so rather than try and help his companion, he had no choice but to press himself against the wall and watch as Hadrian’s hands began to wander across the boy’s back before he almost carefully removed the robe the hid the blonde’s body from view.

Leon whimpered softly in protest as the one barrier between Hadrian and his naked body was removed, but he was more revolted by the lick up his cheek, the feel of that wet muscle gliding up his cheek and leaving a moist trail behind it was beyond abhorrent. But to then feel that same slick tongue journeying down the planes of his back made him shudder and squirm with tears leaking from his eyes. He choked on a sob as the tongue travelled down to the small of his back and then further, to the cleft of his backside.

The older slave had to look away as Hadrian licked down to Leon’s backside; if he was sickened by watching Hadrian’s ministrations, then it had to be considerably worse for Leon who was having to endure it. Raf was rooted the spot with indecision, it was as if Hadrian was taunting him, waiting for him to try and come to Leon’s aid just so that he could punish them both some more. He doubted the master had even gotten started anyway, a few licks was hardly punishment for the slaves’ attempted escape.

Rather than risk getting hit, and to hold the boy still, Hadrian proceeded to take the youth’s hands and bind them to the headboard of the bed, making Leon whimper again in discomfort and fear. He had plans or these two, and as the guards had seemed to know, the slaves’ cries would echo up the corridors soon enough, despite the heavy door that would muffle the noise. He chuckled softly; at nothing in particular as he sat back, off the blonde and admired the smooth body before him, before his eyes swept the room and settled on Rafael.

Stalking over to the previously ignored slave, Hadrian smiled sweetly at Raf and took his hand to bind him to the wall as Leon had been during their last session in the room. The older slave made no protest to being bound, just let it happen, though his jaw was clenched, Hadrian noticed. Not that it really mattered anyway, even if they did make a fuss, Hadrian was still going to have his way with them. He had several things planned, and even though there would not likely be any variation between what was done to them both, as in, they were both going endure what he had planned, and he was going to drink in their moans and whimpers of pain as if they were drops of an exquisite wine.

Once both slaves were secured, Hadrian looked between them, trying to decide what to do first and to whom. Both young men looked enticing enough to draw his attention, but he could not decide on whom to start. However, when Leon shot a worried and scared look at Raf, the master decided that he’d make Leon wait, and see how it felt to watch as someone was hurt because of something they did or didn’t do.

“Well, I think it’s only fair that young Rafael here gets my attention first today.” He announced to the room, though he got an answering whimper from the boy secured to the bed. A malicious chuckle followed the younger male’s noise of objection but other than that, Leon went ignored as Hadrian fixed his attention on the dark haired slave. “Now then. Where to start?” He asked rhetorically, gazing across to his chest where he stored his toys. He watched as Raf blanched and looked away at the floor and grinned suddenly as an idea came to him.

“Seeing as my dear friend Luca was so adamant about you belonging to him, maybe I should prove to him that you belong to me.” He said softly, walking casually over to the chest of implements where he rummaged around in it for a few moments before stabbing something into the fire and leaving it there. Leon began to squirm on the bed, knowing full well what sort of thing was coming but not sure what to expect, what Hadrian planned on burning or piercing, or whatever else could be done with a white hot piece of metal.

“While we wait for that to heat, let’s have some fun shall we?” He asked, again rhetorically. Going back over to the chest, he stayed there for a minute or two, trying to decide on what he wanted to do to his slaves. He thought it was about time he marked them in some way, made them bleed so that he could see the life that flowed inside them as it stained their bodies crimson. Blood. He wanted to see their blood, taste it, smell it even. He might have seemed insane right then, but his head was screwed on tight enough for him to know what he was doing, and that was what made him all the more dangerous.

He selected a whip from the small assortment of things he had stashed, nothing special, he wanted to hurt them, not kill them, at least not yet. And when the whip made beautiful straight marks across their skin that then bled slowly if he struck hard enough, a whip was the perfect instrument to begin with, at least for the time being, while the metal heated in the fire.

Taking the whip with him, he approached Raf again and chuckled when the male tried to shrink away from him, squashing himself against the wall, but Hadrian continued to approach until he was stood over Rafael. “You’ll count for me how many times this strikes you and if you lose count, we’ll start from the beginning, until I’m satisfied, is that clear?” He received a soft yes from Raf and he nodded approvingly. “See? If you just do as you’re told and play nice, then we wouldn’t have you in these situations would we?”

Raf shook his head and Hadrian again seemed pleased, if a little disappointed that the slave was not putting up a fight. He hadn’t broken Raf’s will yet, he knew that for certain but it seemed as though he had learned from his first experience that obedience was the best course of action in these situations, and he did not want to be the cause of any more pain for either of them.

Hadrian wasn’t in the mood to wait around or provoke the male into giving him more reasons to hurt Leon. He wanted to be especially cruel to the blonde slave, as it would definitely hurt Luca to know that his beloved slave was in pain. I seemed as though the friendship that bound Hadrian and Luca was completely gone, all because of one little blonde slave. So rather than waste time taunting the dark haired slave, Hadrian raised the whip, malice glinting in his eyes as he held it poised above his head before bringing it down hard and fast.

Rafael yelped in pain, gritting his teeth to try and keep from crying out. It was hard, his chest was being lashed, his back to the wall, hard not to give Hadrian the satisfaction of hearing him voice his pain, but Raf had spirit in him yet, and he would fight Hadrian every step of the way. Just as long as it didn’t put Leon at risk anyway. So when the whip was brought down across his chest a second time, Raf grunted his agony and tried to blink back his tears.

Leon looked on in dismay, unable to do anything, but he winced each time the whip came down as if it were he who was on the receiving end of the lashes. After a few more lashes, listening to Raf count them as they drew blood on his torso, Leon turned away, unable to watch, but he could still hear it. Hear Raf’s grunts of pain turning into soft cries as he struggled to count the lashes as they fell upon him. The blood that trickled down his torso as he counted out fifteen lashes, each one tearing open a thin line across his chest, was something Leon could not look away from.

Hadrian was clearly enjoying himself, listening to the whip crack as he snapped it down in swift movements, listening out for the number before he brought the whip down again. He took care not to do too much damage though, no point in hurting him so much so early in the games. After the fifteen lashes were completed without fault, he turned, not even pausing to see how Raf was doing before he made his way over to the bed.

Leon was visibly trembling as Hadrian repeated the same instructions to Leon as he had to Raf and so followed a short while of the whip falling over Leon’s back, splitting the skin easily as the leather implement ate greedily into his soft skin with each strike. Leon faltered after three lashes, resulting in him having to start from the beginning, so when all was said and done, he received eighteen lashes and his back was bleeding profusely. He hadn’t been as resilient as Rafael had been though, his cries loud and clear as the whip laid open his back.

The master chuckled gleefully as he watched crimson blood dribble from each of the lashes on both young slaves and he set the torture implement aside, eyeing the bloodied end dubiously, as if considering whether or not to lick it clean. He didn’t in the end, choosing instead to crawl over the younger slave and lap at the blood on his back like a contented kitten.

Leon was crying quietly, his small body rigid as he felt the bed shift as Hadrian joined him there again, but once more revulsion swept through him as he felt the warm, wet tongue trailing over the open wounds on his back. It stung badly, feeling as though his back was on fire, and even though he knew the whip would no longer meet his flesh, he worried now about what was to be done to them next, even as he tried and ultimately failed to ignore the pain and hatred that consumed him as Hadrian licked up the trails of blood winding down his back.

Rafael was in a similar situation except that it was his chest that burned, and the warm blood trickling down his torso was irritating his skin, but anything was better than feeling Hadrian’s tongue trailing over the wounds. His relief was only temporary though as Hadrian soon tired of tormenting the younger of the two, and instead his attention returned to the metal that was resting in the fire, heating it. Raf cringed as a gleeful smirk spread across his lips and the master looked directly at him, pinning him with his gaze.

“Shall we move on quickly then? This should be ready.” He stated with a calmness that belied the insanity that occasionally shone in his eyes. Pushing himself fluidly off the bed, he strode over to the fire, grasped the end of the metal rod, the cool end, and then turned to face Raf again, approaching slowly so that Raf could see what the white-hot end of the rod was. There was something there that Raf couldn’t make out properly until it was brought closer.

There, on the end, was the master’s crest, reversed of course, but it was Hadrian’s crest and it was in that moment of realisation that Raf knew what was going to happen next.

They were going to be branded. Branded like cattle to show to whom they belonged. And it whereas it could have been done in a less painful way, Hadrian just wanted to hurt them and so branding them like this would be something he would take great pleasure in doing. Rafael could feel the heat radiating from the end of the metal as it was brought slowly closer, and again he tried to back away from it, only to have nowhere to go.

Before long, both Rafael’s and Leon’s screams were echoing up and down the surrounding corridors as predicted and the master’s room began to reek of burning flesh.

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