The Mythology Set

Slave III

Seto smiled as he saw the castle he shared with his family growing closer and let out a roar to let them know he was coming, despite the fact that he knew he'd be informing his traitorous uncle of his return as well. He heard a startled, answering call in the distance and roared again to confirm the disbelief he detected and was pleased to hear more answering calls. He felt the blond in his arms squirm as he began to wake and looked down at him in concern. He'd had to use the Python Grip on him a couple of more times as he traveled, and he figured he was in for a little struggle when the black dragon woke.

Swooping to the ground, he flapped his wings a few times to cool them down so they wouldn't cramp up. He hoped Joey wouldn't be incredibly upset. He smiled as the blond blinked up at him and began to open his mouth, but the younger boy snarled and smacked him quickly. "Ow!"

Joey yelped as the brunet dropped him and stood up quickly. "What the fuck was that! That hurt! And ya did it more than once-!" He looked around and let out an angry screech when he didn't recognize his surroundings. "And where am I, you bastard!"

"I just wanted to get you away from your family—" Seto began, holding his hands up defensively as the blond bristled, poison dripping from his barb to sizzle into the dirt.

"—T' make me your slave? What, was I so horrible t' ya that ya needed some revenge?" He hissed angrily. "I was good t' you and ya kidnapped me from my home!"

"Home? A home is someplace you can be comfortable!" Seto snapped, glaring at him. "It's someplace you can be safe! I don't know what delusion you're under but you were neither of those things!"

Joey screeched again. "But ya don't deny that you're makin' me your slave? FUCK. YOU."

The brunet yelped as the younger boy tackled him and immediately began trying to fight him off. "Ow, damn it, that's not what I meant! OW! GET OFF!" He flung the black dragon off with his tail and lunged at him to try and pin him to the ground.

"Nnh-!" Despite the anger he felt, he was hurt, too. How could Seto be so cruel? He'd made love with him for weeks, and then the older boy had just… had just stolen him away from everything he'd ever known, to this strange place where he knew he'd never fit in unless he was the brunet's own bed slave. "I hate you-! I hate you!" He clawed at the brunet's shoulders and began beating him with his tail. "Get off of me!"

Seto grunted and flinched as he felt the blond's poison sizzle on his skin, leaving a stinging burn on his flesh as he tried to pin his tail with his own. "Joey, please, just let me explain—SHIT!" He arched his back with an angry, betrayed screech as he felt the barb slice through his flesh, eyes widening as he felt the poison splatter into the open wounds. He whined and glared at the black dragon angrily as he finally wrestled his tail down to the ground with his own. "Joey, why would you—hhhnnnnnn…"

Joey frowned, brows furrowing together as he watched the brunet's pupils dilate. "…S-Seto? Are you… What's wrong-?" He gasped quietly as the older boy collapsed on top of him and reached up to grab his shoulders. "Seto-!" He reached around the brunet to hold him and paled when he felt the rough patches of burned skin and the wetness of blood. He'd never intended to poison Seto-! He'd never intended to poison anyone!

Sure, he'd threatened it to some people, but he'd never really thought about carrying it out. He knew how bad his poison could be and he had certainly never planned on hurting someone he cared about with it. He was angry and hurt, not vengeful. He'd just wanted to burn off some of that anger before he listened to Seto, and…

Rolling the brunet off of him as he began to shudder and wheeze, Joey sat up and carefully maneuvered him onto his stomach so he could examine his cuts. "Oh no…" He bit his bottom lip as he took in the burns and acid-green scratches, then rolled onto his knees and bent over him, tracing the scratches with his fingers. If he just mixed some of his poison with some herbs, he could heal him. It wouldn't be quick, but it would be faster than letting him suffer through it, and—

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

Joey yelped as two pairs of hands grabbed him and threw him to the ground, pinning his hands behind his back and twisting his tail around quickly to immobilize it. "Ah-!"

"Check the prince!"

"He's been poisoned!"

"Quickly, get him to the healer!"

The blond squirmed as he was dragged upward, crying out when one of the guards whipped his thin tail against the base of his own. He whimpered as his tail fell limp and found he couldn't control it; they'd done something so that he couldn't control the muscles in it. "Ah-!" The air was forced out of him as another guard punched him in the gut. He coughed and wheezed weakly until he felt more fists on his body, and he could only mew and whimper as the men continued beat him into a world of pain and senselessness. He only knew they were done when he felt his aching body being thrown over a sharp shoulder, digging painfully into his stomach.

He whined again. Maybe he shouldn't have taken his anger out on the brunet.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Mokuba rushed into his brother's room despite the other healers' calls for him to stop and not to go in. "Seto-!"

"Shh!" Ishizu glared at him for a moment. "Your Highness, I don't mind you disregarding the other healers and coming to see your brother, but you will not disturb me or my work. Your brother has been badly poisoned."

The younger boy at least had the decency to look down at his feet. "I'm sorry. It's just… he's been missing so long, and… he disappeared right after our uncle was poisoned, so I thought…"

"His poisoning is unrelated to your uncle and cousin's," she replied quietly. "He was poisoned by a dragon found with him."

"Dragon poison?" Mokuba frowned. "So he'll be able to get through this himself?"

"Well, it appeared that way at first." She frowned and reached out to touch the brunet's burning forehead. "But he's suddenly taken a turn for the worse. I'm afraid that the only way to heal him now is to get the poison from the dragon that attacked him and make the antidote to it manually."

"Really?" Mokuba walked over to gently grasp his older brother's hand. "…I guess there's really no other choice, huh?" He sighed, then looked up at her. "Alright. You go down with the guards to get his poison so we can heal him then."

Ishizu dipped her head in a bow. "As you wish, Your Highness."

.-.-.-.-.-.

Joey lifted his head as the iron-barred door opened with a squeal, his glazed-over eyes traveling over the small group coming into the cell with him until they landed on what looked like a nutcracker. He stared at it for a few moments, baffled, until one of the guards walked over and slapped his tail, making it fall limp again. "Ngh-!"

He watched in confusion as two guards lifted his tail and blinked as the woman walked over and carefully took his barb into her hand. He saw the nutcracker being settled on either side of his barb and only then realized what they were doing. Letting out a terrified screech, he began to struggle against the chains holding him against the wall. "NO! NO! DON'T! PLEASE DON'T! PLEASE DON'T NOOOOOOOOO!"

Joey threw his head back with a scream of agony as he both heard and felt his hard barb cracking beneath the metal contraption. He sobbed as the woman peeled the cracked pieces apart as one of the guards held a bowl beneath it. "Stop! It hurts! Please stop! Please! Please don't do this to me!" he wailed, tears rolling down his cheeks as the woman reached into his barb and carefully squeezed the poison sac inside until he felt the sizzling poison dribble out of his cracked barb. He sobbed as it burned his open wounds and turned his head away, body trembling with exertion. "Why-! Why!"

Once all of the poison had been drained, the woman looked up at him with an expression almost like pity. "If you hadn't poisoned His Highness in the first place, we wouldn't have had to do this. You should have left him alone instead of attacking him. While I didn't exactly relish the thought of doing this to you, you brought this upon yourself, and His Highness had every right to order this."

Joey watched her leave in disbelief, unable to even choke out that 'His Highness' had kidnapped him and intended to enslave him. His throat was raw from screaming and even if it hadn't been, he doubted that they'd even listen to him. They'd beaten him a few times since he'd been brought in for even having the audacity to look at Seto, let alone attack him, so he sincerely believed that they'd only smack him around if he tried to speak to them.

…His Highness had ordered this?

Joey sobbed again. Seto had ordered for his barb to be cracked open? To have his poison cruelly squeezed out when he would have gladly offered it to heal him?

Seto had been so tender with him as his slave, had acted like he cared, but that had all been a lie. He'd been using his body and, when he decided that the blond was a good fuck, had stolen him from his home with every intention of making him a bed slave. He had no regard for Joey as a person—only as a toy.

The blond sobbed and fell limp in the chains, sagging to the ground desolately. "Seto…" He turned his head and choked back another sob, sniffling. "Seto, I hate you…!"

.-.-.-.-.-.

Seto groaned as he drifted back into consciousness and bit his bottom lip. "Uhn… Ow…" His body ached down to his bones. He blinked his eyes open resolutely and groaned. "Ouch… Damn it…" He sat up slowly and looked around, comforted when he recognized his surroundings. He was in his room back at the castle—his cousin's castle, that is.

He ached, but he wasn't in terrible pain. He smiled and turned to look at his side where he knew Joey always snuggled up against him. He was confused for a moment when the blond wasn't there, but then he remembered being poisoned. The guards that had been coming to meet him had probably separated them for fear that Joey would try to hurt him again.

…He probably could have handled the argument before being poisoned better, too. He hoped Joey wasn't still angry with him.

Turning as the door to his room opened, he smiled as his little brother stepped inside, rasping, "Mok'ba."

Mokuba looked up at him sharply, then let out a delighted whoop and rushed over to tackle him. "Seto, you're okay!"

Seto hugged him tightly despite how much it had hurt to be slammed into and despite how much his muscles protested. "Mokuba."

The younger boy nuzzled against him affectionately. "Seto, I really missed you. When Uncle and Yami were poisoned and you disappeared, I thought—"

Seto frowned. "Poisoned?"

"Oh, uh… Well, since you grounded me from dessert, I didn't get any," Mokuba explained hesitantly. "And I guess someone had put poison into it. Yami stopped eating before he consumed enough to kill him, but Uncle, well… he's gone now. And with Yami indisposed and you missing, I've had to act as king here. …It's awful."

"Of course it is. Now you understand why I never once tried to steal the crown," the brunet replied, smiling a little. "It's just too much trouble. Now, tell me, where is Joey?"

The younger boy blinked at him in confusion and quietly repeated, "Joey…?"

"He's my… companion." Seto paused, then shrugged. "I'll explain it to you completely later. In any case, I'd like to see him."

"Your companion…?" Mokuba blinked at him again.

The older boy scowled. "The one that the guards probably brought in with me. Blond, black wings, hesitant but polite. He's the one that accidentally poisoned me. I want to see him." He felt worry cause his stomach to flip as he watched the blood drain from his little brother's face. "Where is he, Mokuba? You didn't just leave him out there on his own, did you?"

The smaller dragon immediately recoiled, looking ashamed and horrified and confused all at once. "I thought… I thought… the guards told me that he'd been trying to kill you. I had him put in the dungeons."

Seto squeaked. But he could smooth this over. He could. It was a simple misunderstanding. Joey would forgive them. There'd just been some confusion. "Okay. I'll go get him."

The younger boy seemed to shrink under his gaze. "Um… You'll… you'll need the key. The guards said he was dangerous, so I had them use the shackles."

A little harder to explain away, but Joey was a forgiving person. "Okay. I'll grab it from one of the guards."

"…And… he hasn't been eating anything, and we've been having to force-feed him," Mokuba added hesitantly.

Seto felt the blood draining from his face as well. He hoped Joey was as forgiving as he thought he was. "Oh Ra."

"…And we drained the poison from his barb but he won't allow the healer near him so he's probably in a lot of pain."

Seto stared at his little brother as he watched him cringe away, looking disgusted with himself. "…Mokuba, you didn't… Why would you… Did you even go see him for yourself, or did you just take the guards at their word?" He couldn't help a whimper of his own when the younger boy shrugged uncomfortably. "You… you didn't… and…" He swallowed thickly. This had not been the reception he'd wanted for Joey.

He'd wanted Joey to feel safe and welcomed here. That obviously hadn't happened.

Leaping to his feet despite how achy and tired he felt, Seto let out a roar and slammed out of his room, nearly knocking Ishizu over in his haste as he marched up to the nearest guard, grabbed him by the front of his shirt, and slammed him against the wall. "GET ME THE KEY FOR THE PRISONER'S SHACKLES AND GET READY TO HAVE YOUR ASSES KICKED!" he roared, then turned and threw him to the floor with a disgusted snarl at the terror he'd seen in the other man's eyes.

The guards had been using his brother's innocence to their advantage. When Yami got better, he'd have to inform him to reprimand them. Until then, he could make them wish that they were being reprimanded by Yami.

Seto snarled and pointed at Ishizu. "You. Get some bandages and healing salves for Joey when I bring him up from the dungeon." He spotted a servant trying to scuttle by unnoticed and immediately rounded on her. "YOU. Get the chef to make some soup and bring it up to my room." When she paused to sputter a timid 'yes sir' he roared, "NOW, YOU IDIOTS!"

The three immediately scurried to do as they'd been told as he turned to sweep through the castle, snarling at anyone that tried to greet him to show just how displeased he was. Even the council members that tried to stop him to speak about what had happened before he'd been forced into slavery were treated to enraged glares and wordless roars.

He rumbled quietly as he stormed down the steps into the dungeon, tail angrily slamming into each empty torch until he finally came across one that was lit. He smashed the lock on the door with his tail furiously before kicking the door open, ignoring the way the guards trailing behind him flinched at the loud clang as he stepped into the cell.

Seto felt his heart leap into his throat when he saw the blond he'd been trying to protect chained to a wall so tightly that he couldn't even sit down comfortably, leaving him hanging limply from the shackles around his wrists in exhaustion. His dirty clothes hung from his thin body and showed how grossly underweight he was. He took a step forward and flinched as he stepped in something wet and sticky, then looked down in confusion.

He felt bile rising in the back of his throat. He'd just stepped into a puddle of blood, poison, and puss, and as he retreated, he saw the blond's cracked barb still oozing a hideous goo mixed up of pink and green. He looked up at the younger boy's face, mouth already opened to apologize, but his voice died when he saw the bruises on his face and his cut lip.

"Oh, Ra, Joey…" Seto reached shaking hands out to cup the black dragon's cheeks gently, thumbs stroking over his cheekbones. He swallowed thickly as the blond's eyes drifted up to his face and whispered, "I'm so sorry. I'll fix this, Joey. I will." His heart broke a little as the eyes immediately turned away from him. "Joey…" He stroked the blond's hair out of his eyes and kissed him softly before he turned and glared at one of the guards. "Unchain him. Now."

Two of the guards rushed forward and began unlocking the shackles quickly. Seto bristled as one of them reached out to grab the blond's waist as he began to fall and immediately shoved him aside to scoop the younger boy into his arms, stomping back up to his room as he pulled the black dragon up against his chest. He couldn't believe how everything had gone so wrong when he'd only intended on bringing the blond somewhere safe.

He stomped into his room and rumbled in annoyance as he carefully placed the blond on his bed—but he was really only annoyed with himself. If he hadn't been so impulsive and just taken Joey away from his home, he wouldn't have had to see him looking broken beyond repair. He could have convinced Joey to come with him if he'd just talked to him. He'd been told that when it came to persuasion, he was second to none, and Joey was reaching the point where he wouldn't be that hard to convince.

Seto cupped the blond's cheek again, frowning, then sighed quietly. "I'm sorry, Joey…" He forced down the guilt he was feeling and stood up straight, turning as the door opened and Ishizu made her way in, Mokuba trailing behind her quickly with armfuls of bandages. He growled quietly. "Did it ever even occur to you that he'd give you his poison if you asked for it?"

Ishizu shot him an unimpressed look. "I was under the impression that he was violent and wouldn't cooperate."

The brunet snorted in disgust at her cool manner and rolled his eyes as he sat on the bed beside the prone black dragon. "Of course you were." He watched her bring a bowl of hot water over to the bed and sighed as she set it on the wooden chest at the end before she reached for the damaged barb.

Joey saw her hands approach his already wounded tail and screeched, arching up wildly as he swung his tail away. "No! NO! Don't touch me please don't I don't have any more please leave me alone PLEASE!"

Startled, Seto grabbed the blond's shoulders to force him down, turning to roar at the woman to get the hell out of his room before he returned his attention back to his squirming lover. "Joey, please, you're okay now. I'll protect you. Please calm down." He felt the blond's claws scrabbling wildly at his back and gritted his teeth as the scabs over his cuts and burns were ripped open in his frantic scratching. "JOEY. Calm down. I'm here. You're safe."

Joey sobbed as his thrashing slowed to a stop, looking up at the brunet in confusion. Seto had kidnapped him, then ordered to have his poison forcibly milked. Now he was taking him from the dungeon he'd had the guards place him in and was telling him that he'd protect him? That didn't make any sense! Why was he letting himself be comforted by the older boy holding him? The white dragon should have been the last person he felt safe with, and now he was cuddling up against his chest for safety?

His aunt and uncle had ruined him, he decided. They'd twisted him into a docile little pawn that cowered from everything and soaked up any affection tossed its way.

He trembled as the brunet kissed him, eyes growing damp in defeat as he resigned himself to being the white dragon's slave. "Set—Seto, I—'m sorry I—Mmn—" He whimpered as the older boy pulled away. "…'m sorry I poisoned you," he whispered, turning his head away. "I was gonna heal ya, I swear, but then your guards, they just—they just beat me up and wouldn't let me explain-!"

Seto frowned and cupped his cheek again. "Do you remember what they looked like?"

Joey hiccupped quietly. "No. After they locked me in that little room and chained me up, they took turns smackin' me around." His breath hitched. "They—they kept hittin' my tail so I couldn't move it and then they'd start hittin' me and I—" He gasped as the brunet pulled him up against his chest and hid his face by leaning it against his neck, ashamed of all of the tears he was shedding. "…My stomach hurt too much from bein' hit all the time t' eat what they'd bring me, so they started forcin' the food down my throat. I thought I'd die sometimes 'cause I couldn't breathe. And ya had 'em break my barb!" he wailed, trembling.

The brunet immediately grabbed his chin and forced him to sit back, staring into the red, heated eyes as he frowned. "Joey, I didn't have them break your barb. I wasn't even conscious. Your poison affected me quickly and I was out for the better part of a week. My uncle is dead and my cousin unable to run the kingdom, so my little brother has been doing his best. He was told that it was necessary to take your poison." When the younger boy squeaked in confusion, the brunet whispered, "He's twelve, Joey. He had no idea what that would mean."

Blinking up at him slowly, Joey frowned. "You… you're not the one that gave the order?" He felt part of his broken heart begin to mend. Seto hadn't been the one to order him so badly hurt. "I thought… I thought you'd…" He sobbed and hid his face in the brunet's neck again. "Seto-!"

Seto hugged him tightly and pulled him into a soft kiss, running a hand through his hair as the smaller body trembled against his. He continued to kiss him gently, feeling guilty for every tear the blond had shed. He hadn't deserved any of this. Breaking the kiss, he brushed his lips over the blond's forehead. "We need to get your barb cleaned so it can heal, Joey. If not Ishizu, then one of the other healers. Please."

The black dragon shuddered and cuddled closer to him. "But I… hnn…" He bit his bottom lip and looked down his tail, flinching when he saw the gooey mess oozing out of his cracked barb. "…Okay," he whispered, defeated.

Kissing him again, the brunet cooed and nuzzled his neck. "It's okay. We'll get you healed."

Joey sniffled and wiped his eyes, then looked up at him in confusion. "Wait… There was a little boy in here with us, too. Where'd he go-?"

"He probably made himself scarce as quickly as possible. I've been told that when I'm angry, I'm very hard to be around, even for my little brother." Seto nipped the blond's earlobe gently before he ran his hand down his arm. "I'll be right back. I'll find one of the other healers. And once you're settled in and my cousin is feeling better, we'll see about bringing your sister and mother here, okay?"

"Okay…" The blond blinked for a few moments, then looked up at him sharply. "Wait, what-?"

"You want them to be safe, don't you? That's one of the reasons you put up with your aunts and uncle," the older boy replied, walking toward the door. "I brought you here with the intention of being my lover, not my slave. It's my duty as your lover to keep you happy, and if having your mother and sister here will make you happy, I'll have a messenger inform them of where you are and that they are invited to stay here with you. –Why are you crying?" Seto whined when he saw the blond crying again and rushed back to him. "Joey, I thought you'd be happy. That's why I did this—please stop crying—"

Joey closed his eyes and leaned his head against the brunet's chest, breath hitching a little as he hugged him tightly. He figured Seto didn't know the difference between tears of happiness and sadness. Unfortunately, he wasn't in any condition to tell him right now. He'd tell him later, after he'd calmed down and had had his tail seen to.

Reaching up, he stroked the brunet's cheek and leaned up to brush his lips over his chin. "Thank you, Seto."

"Yes, you're welcome, just… just stop crying!"

Joey chuckled weakly. "I'll try. I'm sorry I thought you'd… I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm sorry that you were so mistreated." Seto scowled. "I'll have the guards dealt with. –And don't tell me not to, because they were just doing their jobs. They were not doing their jobs. We don't have our prisoners beaten daily. They were taking advantage of my brother's naivety and if I hadn't returned they probably would have continued. –I'll have Ishizu dealt with, also. She should have known better." He frowned and cupped the blond's chin so he could meet his eyes. "This isn't how I wanted you to see my home. It's usually a very nice place, and I'm sorry."

The blond shrugged a little. "It was kind of nice not bein' told what a horrible heir I am. I hafta admit that I kinda prefer the beatin's t' that." He gasped as the brunet pulled him into another hug and wheezed helplessly. "Seto you're hurtin' me…!"

Seto relaxed his grip a bit—but only a bit. "I'm still so sorry, Joey. I'll make this up to you, I swear."

Joey groaned. "Seto I still can't breathe uuuuugh!" He grunted as the brunet nuzzled his throat roughly. "Seto seriously lemme go!"