Forever Caged [Complete]

Chapter 2: Desperate


The tea had finally finished brewing, and Reyvn quickly took it off the stove. He'd started to doze in the seat he'd taken by the kitchen table, and the screaming kettle startled him awake. He poured the contents into two large teacups, and carefully stirred some extra cinnamon into one of them. He took a long wine glass out of a cabinet, and a small sharp knife from the silverware drawer. He held his hand over the elegant little glass, and the blade to one finger. He paused for a moment, eying the gleaming blade, then almost jumped when he heard a sound at the window. He turned to look, and what he saw made his breath catch.

It was small, but brightly colored. The sudden color was a welcome change on this gloomy day. The pretty little blue bird chirped, and shortly after a second one joined it. Reyvn felt the corners of his lips quirk upward in a small smile, and for the first time since he was small he felt at peace. Then the birds flapped away, and he was alone again. He frowned and turned his attention back to his task and made a small cut on the edge of his left ring finger. He squeezed several drops out into the glass, then stopped and drew his hand back.

A sudden thought went through his mind, and he looked out the window again. He took a look at the entrance to the kitchen, and listened intently for footsteps. He heard none, then strode over to the sink and slid onto the counter top. He searched for how to open window, and a few moments later, figured out how it worked. He unlatched it, and carefully slid it open. He could feel his back start to tingle, and slowly and silently, he squirmed his way out the opening. Yes, it was barred, but he was so skinny that turning sideways let him slip through the bars.

He tumbled to the ground, inhaling sharply at the sudden pain. He got up quickly, then looked around and listened. He knew he could not be seen from any first floor windows unless he went to the front of the mansion. He didn't take the time to enjoy the feeling of being outside again after so long. He dashed to the back of the estate, where the garden was kept. He knew there was an overgrown lattice vine that his master had neglected to tend to, and he was about to try his luck.

Rendell and Lesara were counting out the money. Lesara had laid his share on the table, and was waiting for Rendell. "So, after this is all said and done, would you like to come with us to the pub, Sir Koumori? My offer still stands, my treat."

Rendell thought for a moment. "Speaking of drinks, your taste must be quite complicated. The boy is taking his time."

Koumori sat upright at Rendell's words. "Yes, that particular drink is complicated, but he should be done by now. I heard the kettle go off only a few moments ago." Suddenly worried, he stood and headed for the kitchen. "I'll go see what the delay is."

Reyvn found it not a moment too soon. He grabbed the thickest vine he could find, and carefully but quickly started to clamber his way up. His body was weak and soft from lack of working out or proper diet, but he still found the strength to pull himself up. His back wouldn't stop tingling, and he understood why, but he couldn't stop now to concentrate on his wings. Maybe he could make them appear once he reached the top of this high wall, and just fly away like those birds. He glanced down; good, he was almost halfway up. He was making good time, he thought. He just might get out of here before they realized he was gone.

Koumori entered the kitchen, and froze when he looked around. He double checked around the corners, but there was no one in the room. He looked at the open window, and cursed. He lashed out with his power, seeking his slave. It was only a second before he pinpointed the boy's location, and all but flew past his guests and out the front door.

Reyvn let out a noise of pain, one hand gripping tightly around the vines while another went to his chest. He gasped and shuddered, then shook his head wildly. "I have to...keep going," he told himself softly. He kept climbing.

Lesara and Rendell were somewhat startled. Rendell got up and dashed after Koumori, and the ever curious Lesara followed close behind. "Koumori! What's the matter!" The rest of his words were lost. Rendell's legs gave him a slight advantage of speed over the naga, and he easily loped behind Koumori, sensing his anger. He thought for a moment someone was trying to break in, and would have readily assisted in hopes of getting some leeway in price.

Oh, but nothing could run quite like a pissed off veran. He rounded the mansion, coming into the gardens. Straight ahead he saw Reyvn, climbing up vines that had overgrown in the corner. He growled, his eyes glowing with the colors of fire. He didn't run now, but stalked towards Reyvn the way a fast, prowling cat would, striking with his powers and using the blood link he had to make the blows that much more painful. It was visible even from their distance to see Reyvn's stalled ascent, and him almost losing his grip several times. He'd made it high enough now that if he fell something would definitely break.

Rendell was still a good distance behind Koumori, but from even there could see Reyvn's desperate attempt at escape being thwarted. Rendell had to admit the boy had balls, but he really did not want him broken before he even got to him. "Hey now!" he shouted at Koumori. "If he's injured too badly, we'll have to re-do the deal!" He wasn't sure if he was heard.

"I know what I'm doing," said the veran. It sounded oddly calm considering his apparent anger. He stopped striking at Reyvn, and instead aimed for the vines over his head. He held his power back for a few more steps, then stopped and struck out. The vines snapped and Reyvn felt himself falling. He scrambled to catch onto something that would keep him from dropping back into the hell below him, but there was nothing, and instead he landed in Koumori's waiting arms. He was then promptly righted, and backhanded so hard that he went spinning to the ground and his vision blackened. He landed on his hands and knees, his fingers digging into the soft dirt. The sky overhead crackled with lightning, and light rain began to fall.

Koumori grabbed Reyvn's hair near the scalp and yanked him upright, then smacked him again, though not nearly as hard as the first time. Reyvn shuddered, and did not look Koumori in the eyes.

"What the hell has gotten into you?! After all this time you finally decide to escape and you didn't think I'd catch you?!" He growled when Reyvn failed to respond and grabbed him by the shoulders.

Still Reyvn would not meet those eyes of fire, and then he was glad the rain got hard enough to hide the tears burning down his face. "Birds," he said so soft it was almost a whisper.

"What?" Koumori look startled, and stilled for a moment. Reyvn shuddered again, lowering his head.

"Birds."

Koumori let go, and Reyvn collapsed to the ground. The veran acted like he was disgusted as he glared down at the boy, then turned his head to look at Rendell and Lesara. He only waited for them to do or say something.

Lesara shrugged and Rendell only nodded. "Well, the money is on the table. Do you still want to sell him?" While Rendell was talking to Koumori, something dawned on Lesara. His ears perked up, but he quickly brought them down and masked his face.

Koumori raised his eyebrows in shock. He didn't expect them to still want Reyvn after this little fiasco. "Yes, I do. Especially after this stupid act."

Reyvn flinched like the words hurt him. He sat there, and suddenly he just didn't care. Maybe they'd just end up killing him in the end. It was still an escape. He didn't make a noise, and even though he knew the other two watched him, he rose off the ground just enough to get a good run going.

Koumori heard the noise and turned just in time to see wings starting to appear from the boy's back. He cursed, and again started chasing him down.

Reyvn's body filled with a warmth he hadn't felt since the day Koumori took him in, and his wings were just large enough to start picking him up off the ground. And soon, he was no longer running. Just a little farther and he'd be free.

Or he would have been, if the weight of Koumori's sudden pounce hadn't sent him crashing back to the ground. He cried out from under the veran, and struggled to get back up. But Koumori was much older and much stronger, and gripped Reyvn's hair again and ripped his head back, forcing his upper body to arch back with the movement. Reyvn's eyes widened in fear at the sudden sight of a small vial filled with bright red liquid in front of his face. He fought harder, grabbing at the ground and trying to kick Koumori in the back.

The vial found his mouth and he tasted the foul liquid as it rushed in. He spat it out, but he knew it wouldn't save him. The taste and smell alone were enough. His body suddenly grew very sluggish and heavy, and soon he lay still on the ground. Great black and violet wings were spread out over the ground, but they were not normal wings. They had no bones, no real feathers or even skin, nor were they physically connected to Reyvn's back. They were truly a magical thing. Koumori sighed heavily, and slowly rose up and stepped to the side.

Rendell and Lesara stared at the unconscious boy in awe. Lesara had never seen anything so pretty as this pale creature sprawled on the lawn; not all of his treasures combined could compare. He slowly made his way towards Reyvn and touched a wing, unsure of what would happen. "Well, now we know how the wings work... sort of. I think we can take it from here." Lesara only vaguely remembered the tea for a moment before scooping up the body.

Rendell turned to Koumori. "I'm assuming that's what you use when he gets 'emotional'? What is it?"

"A very specific concoction I found in an old book written before the Requiems went into hiding. I'll give you the list later and you can see for yourself what's in it. But it acts as a heavy tranquilizer for his race, as you can see." He grinned inwardly, then said to Rendell, "And no, usually this isn't what I use when he gets such silly ideas in his head. Now then, it's cold and wet, so why don't we all go back inside?" Lightning crackled again somewhere in the distance, and he turned and headed back for the entrance.

Lesara clutched the boy close, still in awe at his beauty. He slowly slithered after Rendell and Koumori, truly pleased.

Reyvn's wings shrunk, but did not disappear into his back again. Instead, they stayed very small, hardly looking like wings at all anymore. Koumori once again led them inside, and shut the door tightly. He didn't mind the rain, but this was freezing even for his cold blood. He looked at Rendell. "If you care to get out of those wet clothes, I think I may have something big enough to fit you. Unless you want to go back out and get something from the carriage?"

Lesara sat down, still staring at the body, examining his wings. Rendell chuckled. "Thank you, very much. We hadn't expected the rain and we honestly had not expected this to take any more than a few hours."

"Ah, the weather here is always a bit odd. And I didn't expect Reyvn to finally try and escape." Koumori sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. He stepped toward Lesara, and held out his arms. "If you don't mind, I'll take him upstairs and give him a change of clothes too. He's weaker than the rest of us and more likely to get sick."

Lesara looked up, slightly confused. He then realized where he was, shook his head a little and held the boy out to him. "Please be gentle with him though. Another beating like that and you'd have better luck selling him to a butcher for meat," he joked.

Koumori took him and gave Lesara a half grin. "Oh, he gets sick easy enough but I've hit him harder than that and he didn't mark." With that, he slinked up the stairs and into the west hall.

Rendell peeled off his shirt, folded it and tucked it beneath his arm. He listened carefully, wondering what Koumori would do now. It was clear that the veran had either flipped his lid or had some feud going on with someone, and this poor sap was caught in the middle. Lesara looked mildly put out as he saw his treasure slide up the stairs with Koumori, and he wondered when he would get it back, or if he would get it back in one piece.

Koumori actually didn't hurt Reyvn. He'd be out of his life in less than an hour now, he hoped, and aside from that the boy would be unconscious for hours. There was no waking him. Instead, he simply changed both of them into clean, dry clothes, and even packed all of Reyvn's nice clothes into one suitcase. He couldn't carry both downstairs in one trip, so instead picked through a guest room for clothes to fit Rendell.

A few moments of searching proved fruitful, and he folded them neatly and took them and the suitcase back downstairs. He set the suitcase by the sofa and handed the clothes to Rendell. "There's a restroom in the hallway to the kitchen, second door to the left. And if you're interested, the tea is probably still warm and it should be on the counter." He glanced at Lesara. "You two can help yourselves and I'll go bring Reyvn back down."

Rendell went to the bathroom and changed, while Lesara went to the kitchen and examined the tea. The window was still left open, and as he sipped on the cooling tea, he examined the scenery, trying to picture what the fleeing requiem might have seen. He observed the few drops of blood in the glass, and wondered: Why today of all days did he finally discover he could make a break for freedom?

Koumori was back in his bedroom, Reyvn still lying peacefully on the bed. "I have a parting gift for you, Reyvn." He smiled slyly, and set a large bottle filled with a thick magenta liquid on the nightstand. He uncorked it, and slowly lifted Reyvn so he was sitting up. He parted the boy's lips, then raised the bottle to his mouth and slowly poured the liquid in, making sure it was swallowed and not inhaled. He stopped only when the bottle was a quarter empty, then corked it again and wiped Reyvn's mouth before lifting him off the bed. He strode back downstairs and laid him on the sofa before heading into the kitchen. He paused, looking at Lesara. He then went to the window and latched it shut before leaning against the countertop. "He's on the sofa now. Everything's ready when you are."

Lesara jumped, startled, and spilled half the contents of his cup on himself. "Oh! I'm sorry, I must have drifted off." He swiped at the tea on his chest, somewhat embarrassed. Rendell stepped into the kitchen and eyed the tea-coated Lesara a little awkwardly. "Erm.. Bathroom's free. Did I interrupt?

Koumori chuckled and shook his head. "No, you're not interrupting anything. I was just telling Lesara that everything is ready when you are."

Rendell perked up immediately. "Lovely!" He reached out his hand toward Koumori as Lesara slithered to the bathroom. "Thank you for your business. Would I be able to contact you if I have any questions about the boy?"

Koumori shook hands with Rendell. "Yes, yes, assuming Lesara hasn't mysteriously lost my contact information since he's been here."

Lesara left them to blather their thanks, washed up quickly and collected the boy. He hollered to Rendell that he was going to load everything up, and once they were packed away he went to collect Rendell. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the pub? I'm sure the boy will sleep during the trip."

Koumori grinned and looked at the naga. "I think I'll pass this time. I have some other businesses to attend to before the day is out, but I'll gladly take you up on that offer another night."

"Alright. Farewell then." Rendell clambered into the carriage with Lesara and soon they were making their way home, the boy clutched in the naga's arms like a brand new toy.

Koumori watched them leave, then locked the front gate and then the front door. He slumped into his chair, letting his head fall into his hands. Ten years. Ten years of raising that boy - no, he corrected himself, torturing that boy. He knew what ailed him, and why, and yet he never could stop himself from damaging that beautiful creature. And now he'd finally worked up the will to get rid of him, and was only left with an even bigger hole in his soul than the night he found Reyvn; that wasn’t even his real name. Maybe now he could free himself as well.

Reyvn didn't wake up during the ride, though he stirred and made small noises as though having a bad dream. He curled against Lesara for the warmth, and then quieted.

They reached Lesara's house first. Rendell reconsidered borrowing the boy first, knowing that Lesara would better provide the basic needs. He almost felt bad for the boy, but quickly shook it off. Sure he had cruel intentions, but he did intend on letting the boy leave to Les for comfort should he decide this. And Lesara seemed way too happy with this purchase for him to just take it away.

Lesara merrily cradled the boy in his arms while Rendell brought in the suitcase. Lesara's other servants, Cherry and Arna, looked on in disgust, but Lesara told them to quiet themselves, and to make no contact with this boy. He was placed in a room in Lesara's personal hallway, one of the few not cluttered with sparkly things. His things were set down, and Reyvn was tucked in to sleep off the tranquilizer.

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As promised, a chapter a day.

Porn soon, my fellow perverted freaks. <3