Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Yes, have your heart attacks, it really is an update to Absence. After a good couple of years of not being able to even look at the document, I have finally managed to write another chapter and no, this is not the final chapter as I said it would be in the previous chapter. That means there is one more chapter in the works for all who endured the wait. Apologies if the area where I lost my muse and then found it two years later is glaringly obvious. So, without further ado, the real penultimate chapter:

Chapter 12. Warnings: None.

Over the course of the next few days, Hadrian stopped outside their door on a number of occasions to tease and taunt them and at one point he even managed to slide a bible under the door and told them to read it to be closer to God and to pray to him for any forgiveness they may wish to ask for before they didn’t get another chance to. It struck fear into the hearts of the slaves who had no idea what to expect, or what the evil man was planning.

When they were freed from the room at one time to be fed, one of the slaves placing plates in front of them let slip that the pair would be being taken away the following day and that this was a last meal of sorts. Needless to say it put both of them off their food until gentle persuasion coaxed them into eating to keep their strength up. First a bible, now a ‘last meal’? The question hanging over everyone’s head was what was Hadrian planning?

Obviously he knew better than to start a war over the slave, but it was looking as though Hadrian had every intention of killing the two slaves and most people could see already that such a move would be pointless and only provoke Luca into a violent retaliation. There was something being planned by the master and no-one was willing to even hazard a guess at what would happen in the coming day.

That day came far too quickly for the two confined slaves, they huddled together on the bed after a sleepless night, staring fearfully at the door. They waited in nervous apprehension as shadows moved past the door but none stopped, there were no voices beyond the door, nobody coming to collect them and escort them from the room. At least not for many hours and the pair just sat in tense silence.

After what seemed an age, another slave draped in a simple robe unlocked the door and slid inside, placing a couple of neatly folded robes at the end of the bed before he bowed and hurriedly shuffled out again, leaving the two to sit and stare no longer at the door but at the small pile of robes. Eyes were wide and fearful as the subject left, they had obviously been expecting Hadrian and were both beyond scared of what was going to happen, yet none of the tension drained from the room when it was only another fellow slave. It only meant that they would have to endure more waiting.

At least they now knew it was sunrise. No-one ever came to the room until sunrise, so at least they had a time of day, even if they had no idea when they would be taken from the safety of the room. The robes had been put there for a reason though, and so the two young slaves removed the common robes that they were clad in for warmth and moved hesitantly over to the robes laid out for them. They held them up to themselves. Surprisingly perhaps, they were made of the softest material and felt comfortable to the touch.

Sighing softly, Leon stroked the material and then slid into it, hugging himself tightly and shuddering slightly. It seemed as though Hadrian wanted his two most prized slaves to be looking presentable for one reason or another. There was nothing they could do about it, so it was probably best that they stop thinking about it, worrying themselves sick over it but something like that was always easier said than done.

How could they take their minds off whatever impending disaster was approaching when they had nothing but the same surroundings and the same company to turn to for distraction. Anything they indulged in would simply remind them of why they were doing it; because it might well be the last time they could do such things. Their master had struck such fear into them that everything they did was overshadowed by the man who didn’t even need to be anywhere near them to terrify them. It was beginning to reach a point where the waiting was just getting frustrating though, no longer instilling the fear into them that it had when they were first left to ponder on what the plans were for them. They just wanted Hadrian to make his move and be done with it.

Of course this newfound sense of bravery and determination to meet their fates with their heads held high would last only as long as their confinement did. As soon as Hadrian returned to their door and allowed them out, their fear would return with him and they’d want nothing more than to be cooped up in their little room once more. They both knew it, but neither wanted to say such a thing out loud lest it shatter the sense of normality they’d managed to create within the room in the master’s absence.

Raf thought that with Hadrian unable to touch them, hurt them for so long, he’d be more than eager to return to his old routines of calling on them on a regular basis, the man had a seemingly insatiable sadistic streak and unless he really had called on another slave from the dungeon cells to use whilst he and Leon were unable to service him, the older male had no idea of how Hadrian might have lasted the weeks without having his fix of the cruelty he could inflict upon the unfortunate pair. He couldn’t understand why the master was going through the motions that suggested that it might be their last few hours on the earth when he could be using them in his quarters as he always did before. Raf could only surmise that the evil man had found someone or a few people better than Leon and himself.

Perhaps his search of the cells had revealed another slave or two who were unblemished, strong, with the strength and will that the man had a twisted desire to break whenever the opportunity arose to do so. Perhaps he’d actually grown tired of the two he was so determined to abuse before. Perhaps he’d had so much time to think about it that he’d realised that despite Leon formerly belonging to Luca, there was nothing special about him beyond that, they were both no different to the other slaves he had imprisoned in his grungy dungeon cells and he wanted to discard them and replace them with someone better.

It was all speculation though and there was no way of knowing the truth, not unless Hadrian wished for them to know the truth, whatever it turned out to be. They’d find out all that mattered soon enough he supposed, sighing softly into the otherwise silent room.

Leon was too busy admiring the robes they’d been presented with to concern himself with the worries of his companion right then, but the heavy coin pendant around his neck was a solid reminder that he still had much to think about himself, as well as the reason behind the presentation of such finery for them to wear. They had nothing more than their own imaginations to provide reasons though, and those were likely to be outlandish and unlikely with apprehension and outright fear clouding rational thought.

The pendant made him feel closer to his former master, he had to admit, and although it only forced more questions to the forefront of his mind with regard to the meaning behind it, what such an object stood for and why he’d been told to return it to Luca, it still felt better than he could say to have something to remind him of the man he loved, the one who had promised to rescue him but might not have the chance. Even just having memories of the man was enough to put him at ease a little, having something solid to hold soothed him, even though being able to touch the man himself would put these feelings to shame in the wake of the pure adoration and love he had for the man who would never intentionally hurt him unless he deserved it.

For just a few precious moments Leon was so lost in memories that nothing else mattered right then, he was oblivious to the surroundings he’d come to call home for an undetermined amount of time that felt infinitely longer. Oblivious to the events that were about to unfold, whatever they may be. Oblivious even to the presence of his new friend and lover, whom he loved almost as much as he did Luca, and whom he was neglecting right then with his visions of what seemed to be another life or something, for the eternity between those days and the ones with Hadrian.

He was snapped back to reality when his companion reached into the line of his vision, his body concealed by the regal robe, and waved in front of his eyes a few times. The blond blushed slightly and blinked to bring his vision back into focus, offering a sad smile to the one man who was there with him physically and would stand by him at the end, no matter their fate.

“Stop admiring it and put it on.” Raf teased lightly, gesturing to the robe Leon still held in his hands, thumbs still smoothing distractedly over the silky material. He gave a genuine smile to cheer the youth up and dropped the lightest of kisses to the pair of soft lips before him before taking the material from his friend’s grasp and holding it open for his blue eyed little angel to slip into. “Unless you want Hadrian to march you along the halls and wherever he’s planning on taking us as naked as the day you were born.” He grinned, the expression lighting his face somewhat in spite of the master’s plans overshadowing everything.

Leon managed a small smile of his own and obediently slid into the robe, enjoying the feeling of the smooth material against his soft, if now scarred, skin. A disheartening thought flitted across the surface of his mind at that, one about whether or not Luca would even want him back when he saw the extent of what Hadrian had done to him. And what about Raf? The male had already displayed such selflessness when they’d tried to escape before and Leon wasn’t in any rush to go anywhere without his friend again. What would happen to him if Luca did take him back? Would Raf go on his way and return to his life as a merchant? Leon couldn’t see him returning with Luca and simply moving onto a master who wasn’t as cruel as the last. He didn’t seem suited to a life of slavery like that.

Rafael shook his head slightly at the faraway look that had settled back into his friend’s eyes once again but before anything more could be said, the door swung open and there stood Hadrian. He was dressed that time in a very dark blue robe with gold trim and there was an expression on his face that both slaves had seen often enough to know that the man had something in mind that only getting pleasure out of, and likely seeing the pain on the faces of those involved. It was the same sort of expression that the man had worn right before he pushed the white hot metal through the peaked bud of the blond’s nipple, piercing it in the most painful way. Raf wondered what in any god’s name had been done to the master to make him turn out as he had, delighting in the pain he inflicted upon those he considered to be ‘worthy’ of his cruel treatment.

“I hope you’re ready.” Was all the man said as he stood aside and gestured for the pair to exit the room.

Both slaves were suddenly struck by the knowledge that regardless of what happened next, they were not going to be seeing the room again, though whether that would be for the best or not had yet to be seen. They just knew that they’d never again see the room that they’d come to value as their own sanctuary away from the harsh reality of the master’s torture.

As soon as Leon had stepped out of the room behind Raf, the master swung the door shut and it slammed with the kind of finality that further assured them that they would not be returning to the room and it really cemented the situation for the pair who cast last gloomy looks at the one thing that had stood between them and the man escorting them for over a week before turning their backs on it and following their master along the brightly lit corridors. Some servants ceased their tasks for a moment to watch the trio pass and although Hadrian didn’t spare them a glance, or even snap at them and order them back to their chores, the pair following him couldn’t help but think that perhaps he wanted them to watch and that everyone bar the pair involved knew what was going on.

They walked for some time, moving along the corridors and passing more and more people gathering to watch them pass until they stepped out of the castle and began to trek away from it. The two slaves were still barefoot but they obviously looked presentable enough or else Hadrian wouldn’t have been walking with them.

And walk they did, all the way through the town which the castle looked down upon, passing the market stalls and taverns and houses as they got further out. The walked all the way down to the beach without a word, the two slaves following obediently behind their master, with those feelings of wanting to be back in their little room where they knew that at least for the time being they were safe. Neither of them had looked back though, and it wasn’t a hard feat to accomplish since neither of them wanted to be back in the castle really, both were hoping that someway or another, whatever fate they were going to on the sands was better than the life they had just come from.

As they walked though, Hadrian was lost in thought it seemed, not even really conscious of the path he walked but neither slave noticed it, preferring to keep their silence than comment on how out of sorts their master seemed to be since leaving the castle. Both slaves would rather dwell in the rather oppressive silence than incur the wrath of the one capable of doing so much harm and feeling no remorse about it.

It wasn’t too long before they could feel the warm sand between their toes and the blond seemed especially pleased by that, distracted from whatever the master had in mind as he deliberately placed each foot to feel the sand beneath them, Raf couldn’t help but smile at him, but it was short lived as they soon stopped at a seemingly random stretch of the beach bordered by a kind of jungle thicket.

A good distance further down the beach, a lone figure stepped out of the foliage and when he stepped into view, Leon’s eyes lit up in a way Raf hadn’t seen before. Leon thought they were just going to be handed over to Luca and that would be the end of it. Raf would have liked to have thought the same but there was some niggardly detail that he knew was being overlooked, something somewhere that would suggest that this exchange or whatever it was, wasn’t going to be as smooth as that.

“You first Rafael.” Came their master’s voice from the beside them and the emotionless tone spooked the older male who looked up at him in fear but Hadrian didn’t even spare him a glance, too busy staring intently across the sands at the one stood opposite them, his expression neutral.

After a few moments of just standing there, no repeated order, no shouted reprimand for not doing as he was told, Raf finally started moving forwards, looking over his shoulder at his blond friend as he went, more worried about leaving Leon in the company of the master on his own than he anticipated and he very nearly turned and ran back to his companion, refusing to leave his side and demanding that they go together. But the situation seemed odd enough as it was and he didn’t want to provoke Hadrian into anything, so he simply walked on, glancing back at Leon every now and again to make sure he was alright, not that he’d be able to do anything even if he wasn’t.

Leon watched with mixed feelings as Raf left him with Hadrian but he was still concentrating hard on the shape waiting at the other end of the beach, waiting for Hadrian to tell him to go too. It was like a dream come true. He was going to be going back to Luca without a fuss in mere moments and he couldn’t wait. He looked up at Hadrian for a moment but the man didn’t even seem to be aware that he was even there, at least not for the time being.

When Rafael was stood with Luca and began conversing with the man if their stances and proximity were anything to go by, since they were too distant by far to hear them, Hadrian waited only a few minutes before ordering Leon off too, and the blond wasted no time hanging around Hadrian any longer than he had to and set off down the beach at a run, his smile radiant and his eyes glinting in the sun that shone down overhead.

When he made it halfway down the beach though, the expressions on his companions’ faces which he could see from that distance, dropped and they started gesturing wildly, eyes wide.

Behind him, a dark cloaked man strode with trained ease from the shadows cast by the trees bordering the beach and it looked for a moment as though Hadrian was trying to stop him, even as the stranger calmly turned and raised a bow, arrow already being drawn back against the string as he took aim at the blond running across the sand, oblivious to the drama unfolding behind him. Hadrian was looking on with something akin to horror as the man refused to lower the bow, realising that what he was doing, what he had ordered was a mistake and that it was too late to take it back.

The arrow left the bow with a low whistle and further down the beach, Leon turned to look over his shoulder, his pace slowing slightly as he did so, to see what had his companions so worried. As his torso twisted to allow him to see over his shoulder he saw the problem mere seconds before it hit him. The bowman’s aim was true as the arrow struck him on the left side as he turned to look behind him.

The man had anticipated the move and aimed straight for the young slave’s heart.

Leon was swept off his feet by the force behind the arrow and landed face-down in the sand, not moving.