Dawn || Self Para
Trigger warning: slavery implication, torture, & gore.
He could feel the bone shattering when Alexander’s fist hit his torso, causing blood to spatter onto the ground as he coughed, wheezing as he gasped for the air that he didn’t need. His hair hid his face when his head hung low, his eyes glazed over. The only reason his face hadn’t hit the ground was due to the shackles that bound his wrists, pulled tight that it almost tore his limbs off. Almost, but only enough to make it hurt. He wondered if he would be of any use to his Master if his limbs were truly torn off. His Master would find a way to sew them back together, he assumed, forcing his body to mend itself as he shoved the limbs against his body.
The thought made him smile. He would like to know if his Master would succeed.
His hair was yanked, the chains around his neck rattling, and Alexander’s face came to view - eyes as blue as the sky and hair the colour of the sun. His lips were moving, but Tuah couldn’t hear what was being said; the ringing in his ears still hadn’t stopped. It made him feel like he was underwater (he hated being in underwater, he thought). His Master’s hand came into view, and Tuah instinctively shy away as he braced for another hit. But Alexander held fast, the grip on his hair tightened. His other hand caressed Tuah’s cheek gently. It was common for him to alternate between a hard hit and a soft touch, his actions often unpredictable that Tuah had trouble keeping up.
“Can you hear me now, pet?” Ah, so the ringing wasn’t permanent. Shame. He didn’t answer, he never did. One of the few ways that he rebelled against his Master (how long could he keep this up, both of them wondered, one with glee and the other with trepidation). He had received punishment for it one too many times before; hot iron pressed against his tongue until he had lost all the sensation. By then it was no fun for his Master since he didn’t react the same way anymore. He must’ve have reacted, however, seeing that Alexander smiled softly as he continued to caress Tuah’s cheek sweetly. “Good. I was afraid that I had gone too far. You’re still very important to me, pet.”
It was never his name that his Master uttered, and Tuah never wanted to hear his name being uttered by him either.
Tuah struggled against his chains, grunting instead of crying in pain as the newly healed wound reopened once more. Alexander shushed him, pressing his cold lips against Tuah’s temple as he released his grip on Tuah’s hair, running his hair through the long curls instead. “Hush now,” his Master told him, “You must stay here until the sun’s up. This is your punishment.”
Until the sun’s up. That was new, and with it a rush of fear creeping in as he renewed his struggle. The chains were heavy, even with his strength he could feel the weight against his skin. Still he struggled, knowing what was to come. Dawn would come soon, he could tell as he looked upwards, a dome room where the centre ceiling was removed to allow moonlight shone beneath when the position was right.
How amusing, he thought, that I would choose to survive when all this while I only wanted to end this misery.
“There’s no use struggling, you know that, pet.” There was remorse hinted in his Master’s voice, belying the glee that hid behind his eyes. “You chose to defy me time and again, I had to find a way to teach you a lesson. Perhaps, if you survive this, you’d have learnt your lesson.”
“And I told you to kill that fucking dog, didn’t I?” The gentle caress on his hair grabbed hold of his neck crushing his windpipe. Tuah coughed and choked as his body reacting instinctively trying to inhale. “You could’ve easily kill that bastard’s dog, but you let it go and turn your back on it. And I,” his grip tightened, pulling out a flintlock pistol from its holster with his free hand and pressing the barrel against Tuah’s temple, “have to waste a silver bullet on it. Do you know how fucking expensive those bullets are?” Alexander cocked the pistol and pressed it against Tuah’s temple hard, before hitting him with he butt instead, hard enough that Tuah was sure there would be a crack on his skull if it wasn’t for the fast healing.
Alexander sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. “This isn’t the first time that you did this either.” He moved back, and Tuah slumped against his chains. He heard the clink of glasses, a long pause before his Master continued. “What do you think happen to them after they lost the fight, hm?” Another pause, perhaps Alexander was waiting for him to answer. He gave up rather quickly, however, continuing his one-sided conversation, “They’re given to me as an added payment, and I fed them to you.”
Tuah looked up then, his eyes wide with horror. Alexander was sitting with his leg crossed another, in his hand a glass of drink that he swirled leisurely. He smiled as he watched Tuah’s reaction, cooing, “Oh come now. Didn’t it ever occur to you how their bodies looked similar?” A sip from his drink, then, “but then again, I suppose it’s hard to recognise someone from only one of their limbs.” A chuckle escaped his Master’s lips, and a shiver ran through Tuah’s spine as he was reminded just how cruel Alexander could be.
“But that bastard refused to give me his dog when he lost. A broke of agreement between us gentlemen, you see. So naturally, I had to teach them a lesson.” A pause, Alexander tilted his head to the side in thought. “Once we’re done here, I’ll feed that bastard to you. He’s human, someone wealthy, from the look of his clothes. You should look forward to it.” He finished his drink and placed the glass back onto the silver tray – the only clean thing in this forsaken place.
Alexander took out his pocket watch and looked up at the sky, smiling to himself as he turned his attention back towards Tuah. His eyes bore against his Master as he struggled against his chains, a last pathetic attempt to get away from the oncoming dawn.
Tuah could feel his skin warmed, then the searing pain made him hissed, and his struggle renewed vigorously.
“Will you beg for me to release you?”
He refused. Tried to stand up and was pulled back down by the taught chains.
Tuah screamed as the dawn came, until his voice went hoarse and his body burnt from sunlight.
Until he passed out from pain.