> Rowe, the next time corrupt Tomas is gonna whump Kasia, beg for Tomas to spare him.
> Tomas, when Rowe begs, intimidate him into taking back his words and have him let you whump Kasia. (Maybe even threaten to whump Rowe to teach him that only Tomas can decide Kasia’s fate.)
“N-no!” Rowe’s voice made Master Tomas freeze, his hand held high, ready to be brought down against Kasia’s cheek. “Please, Master, h-h-have mercy on him. I beg you.”
Below him, Kasia stayed deathly still. Master turned slowly; as soon as Master’s eyes fell on him he dropped to his knees like a stone and pressed his forehead to the floor.
“Please, please, spare him. Please.”
Kasia still wasn’t allowed to sleep on a proper bed, or even the sofa. He slept in a cramped cage downstairs. But still, Rowe saw him early in the morning, or late at night after Master had gone to bed. He’d seen the way he dragged himself in and out of that cage, wincing as his latest cuts or wounds were pressed against the metal bars. Seen how he flinched when the post came, or a dog barked outside, or Master’s footsteps thudded from upstairs.
And Rowe had seen him when he snuck some food from the cupboard, without Master’s permission. He’d looked like a deer in the headlights when Rowe caught him.
“Don’t tell him,” he had breathed, fear lacing every word. “Please don’t tell him. He’ll- he’ll kill me. I’m sorry, I know you must hate me, I know I’m worthless. But I’m begging you, please don’t tell him.”
Rowe had looked at his sunken cheeks, and desperately thin legs, and nodded. “I won’t.”
But Master had found out anyway.
Master left Kasia for a second and walked towards Rowe, who was quaking on the ground in front of him. Folded over, submissive, desperate. “Why would I do that, my sweet Rowe? Have you forgotten what this mutt did to you? How he made you feel? I haven’t.”
He bent on one knee and coaxed Rowe back up to a kneeling position, cupping his face gently. “I’m doing this for you, love. I have to make it right. He hurt you, and I’m making sure he never does again. Do you understand?”
Rowe stared up at him with wide eyes, trying to decide whether it was worth it to keep begging. Master was right; Master was always right, but somehow it was getting harder and harder to reconcile the memory of Kasia towering over him with a knife with the man across the room, half-starved, weak and terrified.
“I-I understand, Master. I just-”
“No, no, Rowe, don’t beg me anymore.” Master’s grip on his face tightened. “He told you to say that, didn’t he? Thought I’d go easy on him if it came from your mouth.”
“No, Master! No, I swear, he didn’t say anything to me, I promise I promise-”
“Shhh. Fine. But you understand he still needs punishing, don’t you? You understand what he is? I would hate for you to start sympathising with him.”
Master’s face turned hard, and Rowe knew he couldn’t argue any longer. Master was giving him one last chance to be obedient. “I understand, Master. I won’t do it again.”
“Very good. Now, go and make yourself useful somewhere else, please. Kasia still needs correcting for this little slip-up.”
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tagging @inpainandsuffering @cupcakes-and-pain @crystalrainwing !
