Cold laughter cut through the air like a pair of vicious claws.
It felt like someone ran a pillar of ice down his back, he was shaking so much. Chains. Not the chains. Anything but chains.
“You’ll serve me, and no other!” The owner of that laugh--that terrible, terrible laugh--shrieked. He was mad. Completely and utterly mad.
He stared, pleading, at the throne. Help me! HELP ME! He wanted to scream the words. The owner of the throne just sat and watched, unphased. Uncaring. “P-please!” he managed to scream, the tears welling up in his eyes.
The laughter continued, growing into a crescendo of mania. There was no love in that laugh. Only resentment.
“Father, please, I’m begging you! STOP!” his cries were drowned out by the cacophony around them. But his please fell on deaf ears. The irons were raised, like snakes ready to strike.
Tears ran down his face; the floodgate had been opened. “Boss, please! Don’t let him do this to me! BOSS PLE---Aͬͯ̌̌̅͏̪̩͓̺͟A̒̾ͩ͂̂̑ͣͧ҉̫͍͉̞̬̦̟̦͢Ą͑̐͋̌̒ͪͥ҉̩͔̼̖̭Ą̡̺̼̔̒̉̐̊͛A̸̩͉̗͕͔̭̭͗͛̃͊̒ͦ͡ͅA̛̗͚̳̭ͨ̈́̓̚̚͝A̢̜͇̦̖͉̰̫̰̍A̭̬̼̺̖͆̿̃ͬ͢Ǎ̹͇̼̲͚͙͔ͨͥ͗ͭ̕͝ͅA͉̖̼̻̽Ǘ͚̯͕̘͕̗̉̈̌́̚͟G̢͖̲̜͓̃͢Ḩ̖͍̖͎͖̗͓̅͋̚͜!” The shackles bit down, and his body lurched forward. He hit the floor and tasted dirt. He cried more, his eyes never leaving the one who could have put an end to this. The chains grew in length, stealing his freedom. He could hear the cries of his sister--of all his siblings.
Slaves. They were made slaves. And for what? Their father’s madness? Petty revenge?
His eyes met those of his boss and he found nothing. Not a shred of emotion. Like a pest was being removed from his throne room. From his sight. He wailed, his voice ripping from his throat in a dread howl. He could have stopped this. He could have done something to save him!
He loved him, and his love had betrayed him.
