Take Me Away

Chapter summary: Aftermath of the rape – how is Shandaar coping, and how is Radwan dealing with his wounded Xylon?

Author’s Notes: Ugh… classes are starting again… x_x. So this means I’ll have less time to write, as I’ll have between 12 and 15 hours of classes every week. So university works are going to interfere with my net life for one more semester. Back to the fic, well this chapter is kind of short but important nonetheless. I’ve got part of the next chapter planned, and a lot of stuff for future chapters… more smut and slashy moments ^_^. Anyways, enjoy this chapter, and don’t be afraid to leave feedback! ^^

Take Me Away
Chapter 12 - Scars

Radwan hadn’t even stepped in the inn at Jaretak that he was greeted by Kordell. In the few hours he was gone, the man and his sister had gotten in the country as well. “We were just warned that you had left and you’re back already? Yeah, your revenge plot failed or something.”

Frowning, he looked at the redhead and scowled, annoyed by the assumption. “Failed? Are you kidding me? It worked perfectly.”

“As long as you didn’t kill him, it’s fine…….. You didn’t kill him, right?”

Same reaction from the taller man. “No. I just raped him” he replied with a shrug, as if it had been totally normal to force someone into a sexual relationship. He was basically proud that he had done so with the prince. That’s the only positive thing that had happened since Xylon had been bedridden… maybe it was also an excuse to be with someone else, and hurting that person. For a moment, he could control one of the highest authorities out there, he had the power to kill or not.

“Okay. How was it like? ‘Cause we all know the prince is hot. Too bad he doesn’t like women…” That came from Karali, who had joined the two males. “Would be nice watching you two play with that pretty boy. Shall we try this when we get our hands on him?”

Kordell grinned at the thought of the almighty Shandaar Kandi bound by chains and getting fucked by him while giving a blowjob to Radwan. Quite the good idea his sister had. He pictured the silver hair sticking to the pale skin as he rammed in the body, hearing muffled moans… Horny, he didn’t waste his time into dragging his sister to the room they had rented and closed the door behind him. He already was undressing the female with his eyes.

She simply stood there with a smirk across her pretty face, her arms crossed on her chest. “I love when you’re being dirty, brother… that’s why I act the same way. Sometimes I’d like to get inside of your mind and wander around, see what you think, how you react internally… it must be a nice little world full of sexual adventures. I want to hear more. Wait. To feel more.” Karali walked closer to her twin, pulled him into a deep kiss before pushing him on the bed and straddling him. “You’ve been a bad boy, Kordell…”

“That was my whole point. I knew you’d like that.” The woman on top of him quickly got rid of his clothes and ran her hands on the smooth chest below, forming a kiss with her lip. Kordell was basically melting there. “Come on now, hotstuff… show me what you have.”

-

Meanwhile, the blue-haired spearman had gone back to the room where his lover was located. The chocolate-skinned man he had ordered to stay with Xylon was indeed still there, reading a book as he waited for his superior to come back. “How’d it go down at Gurrensha?” he asked, looking at Radwan, getting up from the chair to let the younger man sit down.

“Went great for me. For princey… well I bet he’s not going to say that.” He motioned Kareem to get out by a movement of the head and slowly walked to the bed, his features softening at the sight of the man on the bed. “I’m back again, Xylon.”

The small green-haired guy opened his eyes and smiled faintly. His arms and chest were still hurting despite the painkillers he had gotten earlier and for a moment he wondered why the prince hadn’t had killed him. “So… what did you do with him?”

Radwan shrugged, as if what he had committed a few hours ago was nothing more than brushing his teeth. A random fact, another way of dealing with people. “Oh, nothing that he’s gonna die from. Maybe he’s gonna get mad all over it though. You’d have loved seeing it though…

“I would have?” the wounded man added, his eyes sparkling with interest. He loved it when Radwan was being a bad boy who wanted power. It was a miracle that he hadn’t had tried to take one of the redheaded twins’ place yet and conducted the group by himself. Maybe he knew better than to push his luck that far or only did it to avoid getting killed. However, he guessed the answer being the “not getting killed” one.

“Oh yes... the cutie’s got a pretty tight ass. Let’s say I just took advantage of that since I know you were very tired.” He could see a smirk forming on the man in front of him, and returned it. “If we ever catch him, I’m gonna let you and him alone for some time, before we warn the others that we have him. What do you think of that?”

“There are many reasons why I love you, but your ideas are probably the first reason. That and you fuck like a god. Did he enjoy it? ‘Cause I would have.”

Radwan shook and head and sighed. “Nope. I think he had his boyfriend in mind the whole time. I bet that one has a tighter ass. I don’t know both of them personally, and even though princey has more authority than a simple traveler, I bet that the Surkhang guy’s on top. So maybe-“

“Don’t tell me everything. Keep some as surprises.” Another wave of pain went through Xylon’s body, making his back arch as he cringed and moaned. Nothing of pleasure, this time. Upon seeing this, the spearman quickly got up from his chair and kneeled down beside the bed, reaching for his lover’s hand, which he squeezed it tight, the pain still overcoming his body. He was at a point where he couldn’t feel much in it because of the constant pressure, but judged it natural that he wanted something to cling on, literally, someone by his side. Moments after, his hand was released as Xylon started to recover. He let a slight sigh out and closed his eyes, on the verge of falling asleep. He hated feeling weak, depending too much on the other’s time; one of the only things he had inherited from his parents.

Not knowing if the green-haired man was asleep or unconscious, he shook him gently, waiting for the head to turn around slightly and the golden eyes to slit open.

“I’m tired… I hate this.”

“Alright. Rest some more. We’ll see what we can do in a few hours. ‘Cause now that we’re close to Shandaar and company, we can’t let them go too far. We might have to leave. But if we do, I’ll make sure you don’t suffer from it.” He received a sweet, tired smile from his mate and started to relax as well, seeing that nothing was that different with the man he loved. He seemed still as stubborn as he was the day before. And so he stood by his side.

-

To hell what people would be thinking after that night; Kieran and Shandaar were sharing a single bed and surprisingly, the younger man was almost naked. He had remained clothed not to fear him, but it was getting warmer… still he’d live through it. ‘Maybe we shouldn’t stay around too long and move to Magdos instead. At least, until we reach the most northern part, the weather’s going to be similar as in Kadessa.’ But most of the time, his mind raced between the silver-haired prince in his arms, and the fact he had just been raped. It was… unbelievable. Leaving his comfortable castle for a life of travelling was already hard enough, and now that.

Yet he had to give props to the youth. He was doing very well so far, and had gotten used to his new life quite fast. Even right now, he seemed peaceful in his sleep, even though he probably would have nightmares for a while. The more he looked at the frame in his arms, the more he thought he could have lost him… what if he wouldn’t have been able to find him? Or what if he had gotten killed? He would have never forgiven himself…

The raven-haired youth blinked a few times. There was indeed something different about Shandaar… something that made him want to wake him up. But no. The swordsman needed all the rest he could. Yet, the absence of blood, let alone scabs and scars on the pale skin was almost horrifying. If he had the same wounds than his lover, they probably wouldn’t be bleeding anymore, but still, they should have left scars. The sight made him think about one of his wounds, and he rolled his right sleeve to check on it. It dated from the first days he had been swordfighting with Shandaar, and the ten-year-old prince - cute, chubby-faced ten-year-old prince – had slashed him there, and it was still visible.

Strange, to say the least. He decided to look further on the slightly smaller body. His torso and left arm were intact, as if nothing at all had happened. Smooth as it always had been. He’d have to remind this to his boyfriend when he’d wake up… or maybe not. That could add another shock. And maybe not at the same time… that was something he rarely paid attention before. After all, he was constantly enthralled with him. Those blue eyes were enough to kill for, imagine with the rest of the body…

Kieran looked at him sweetly, and gently kissed his forehead, whispering an “I love you” at the same time. Shandaar’s eyelids fluttered a few seconds after, announcing he was waking up. He withdrew his fingers from the arms not to add any stress and waited.

“Ugh… that… that wasn’t a dream, right?” he asked, obviously referring to the rape and its effects. After seeing his boyfriend’s face, he was sure it hadn’t been one. “I… I need a shower or a bath. I feel so dirty…” He brought a hand to his head and ran it through his hair, then rubbed the sleep off his eyes as he yawned. “Maybe I’d even need to shave… or not” he continued, his fingers now on his cheeks. There was something missing. Blood, as he recalled. Surprised, his eyes travel on his arms, down on his chest and upper legs. Nothing. No blood, no scabs, no scars… just flesh. He got up from the bed and ran to the closest mirror, examining himself. The reflection was still perfect. His sky blue eyes were still the same, as for his torso and muscled arms.

“After what happened you can walk normally? What kinda man are you?!” The voice was Raya’s. She was coming back with a plate of fruits from the market down the street. She was aware the prince was stubborn, but that far, not really. Although she had never seen him limp that much after a night of sex. When he hear her, the older man cringed and bit his lip, ready to go and knock her out so she stopped talking about that.

“I… I have no idea.” That was a lie. Well part of a lie. He had an idea what changes were going on his body and on his mind as well, but he hadn’t thought they’d go that deep. ‘It’s like I’m becoming someone else, or something else…’ “However, you guys shouldn’t worry too much about this. I’m fine.” Another lie. He still felt guilty for being in this situation. “After I have a bath I’ll be even better, and food as well.”

The raven-haired adventurer got up from his bed and picked up his clothes, as well as Shandaar’s, his accessories too and headed for the bathroom. “Want me to come with you?”

“Okay.” Behind that smile, he had to say he was a bit scared.

-

The water was cold, but that’s something both men didn’t mind considering the temperature. It was constantly nagging them, and they were drinking way much water than before in order to stay well hydrated. For someone who was forced to have sex without his consent, Kieran thought his boyfriend was quite courageous. There hadn’t been tears since the morning, and he was able to get close to him, wrap his arms around the shoulders, snuggle…“Tell me… are you sure you’re okay?”

“Of course. It might have been a hard time, but I see it as it could have become much worse. I can’t stay down too long; I’ll eventually need to go back to Kadessa. And when I do, I want to be as strong as possible. And I want to enjoy this.”

Determination, yes, he could smell it. It was emanating throughout every pore of the pale skin in front of him. “Alright. I knew you’d give me that kind of answer. The thing is that I can’t… understand you. Well… I’ll be blunt. You just got raped and you’re already naked in front of me… aren’t you scared?”

Shandaar shook his head and took a step forward, leaning on the swordsman, his eyes locked with the others’. “No. I’ve got nothing to be scared of you. You’re not the one that hurt me. So why should I be scared?”

“Doesn’t it bring you bad memories of this?”

“No. Quite the opposite. I feel very good with you, very comfortable. You’d never hurt me if your life depended on it. Maybe you can make me forget about all of that. In due time, that is. But I couldn’t say no to a kiss, Kieran…” His lips connected with the ones hovering slightly above him for a short, passionate kiss that told everything. Nothing was going to tear them apart. “You know, the other night? You were right… I AM cold. Shall we get out?”

“Yes, we shall go out, your majesty.”

After drying and dressing up, both young men left the bathroom for the bedroom. Shandaar felt better indeed, and started eating as soon as he was in front of the fruit bowl, while Kieran was simply relieved. As they had taken their shower, Dagmar had come in as well, and was now eating with the group.

“Any ideas where to go next?” the black-haired traveler asked the giant, who had just devoured an apple in two bites. Talk about hunger.

“Kinda. We’re going to continue west and reach Ytar Oasis. Shouldn’t take more than 3 days apparently. But this time, we better make sure we’re not followed. We don’t want another even like the one just passed through to happen again. Me and Raya checked, we have enough provisions to last until there and maybe further. Cool, eh? Anyways, the problem with making sure we’re not followed is that we’d have to split up, and we want to avoid that as well. We can try it on a short distance and if you feel comfortable, we’ll separate.” The three other fighters nodded, understanding the plan. “I don’t even think we’ll spend tonight here. Yeah… let’s leave at dusk.”

~ TBC ~