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A Small Piece of Heaven - Part 13

When the duke had been shocked about Wufei's poor condition, he became outraged when he truly saw the extents of the young slave's injuries.

Treize had placed the boy onto Milliardo's bed, and started to undress him while he waited for Evan's to bring water and bandages. Luckily Wufei was till unconscious. The duke doubted that he would have been very cooperative.

For a moment Treize studied the boy's face. He looked almost relaxed, as though he was sleeping. His slightly slanted eyes were surrounded by long, coal-black lashes, and crowned by delicately shaped brows. His lips were dark, full, and pulled together into what looked almost like a pout. If not for his hollow cheeks and the ugly, blood-crusted swelling at his right temple, he would have looked stunning. Magnificent, but not in the same way as Milliardo. Milliardo had the elegance and beauty of a celestial being. The boy's looks were more… exotic.

Treize unbuttoned and peeled away the ragged and dirty shirt to reveal golden tanned skin marred with ugly bruises. Most of the marks were already beginning to fade. God, he was so thin! The contours of his ribs were clearly visible under his skin. The boy's back was crisscrossed with lash marks. Some of the welts looked older than others. Treize felt a flash of fury wash over him. He was glad that Dermail was nowhere near right now, because he wasn't sure what he would have done to the man.

The duke turned his head as he heard Evans enter the room. The butler was carrying a bowl with water, and had some towels draped over his arm. "Put it there on the nightstand," Treize told him.

Evans gazed at the young slave, as he set down the bowl. "Where did he come from?"

"We found him in the woods. He ran away from Dermail. I can't say I blame him."

"Poor child," the butler sighed. "I'll be right back with the rest of the things you requested, Sir."

"Wait, Evans. Before you do anything else I want you to call Captain Kurama. Tell him that I need to see him as soon as possible, and that he should bring his doctor when he comes."

Evans nodded. "As you wish, your Excellency."

As the butler left Treize took one of the smaller towels, soaked it and begun to gently clean the boy. He carefully avoided coming too close to the wound at the side of Wufei's face.

"How is he?"

The duke didn't turn at the sound of Milliardo's voice. "He looks bad, and I'm a little concerned about his arm. Some decent food and rest should take care of everything else."

"Do you think he will get either once he is back at Duke Dermail's 'care'?" The blond walked around the bed and came into his master's view.

"I'm not returning him," Treize told his slave. "I called Captain Kurama and Doctor Po. They will have to decide what will happen to the boy."

*****

The captain and the doctor arrived less than an hour later. Rashid must have dropped everything and headed to Treize's estate as soon as he got the call.

The duke thanked them for coming so quickly and explained why he had called them, as he led them to Milliardo's room.
The captain managed to keep his face blank, but Treize knew him well enough to tell that his friend was just as shocked as he had been. Perhaps he just had seen this kind of abuse too many times to let it show.
"I'm glad you called, Treize," Rashid said. "Just looking at him like this it is pretty clear that there is more then enough cause for us to step in and remove him from his owner. Dr. Po if you would do the typical check up I'll start putting together a report."

The young woman nodded, as she put down her bag. She opened it and pulled down a pair of thin rubber cloves, a syringe and a small vial filled with a clear liquid.

"I'd rather have him sleep through the examination. He looks like he doesn't need any more stress," she explained at the duke's questioning look.

"Perhaps we should wait in the sitting room," Treize suggested.

"Would you mind if Milliardo would stay ad give me a hand, your Excellency?" Sally asked as the three men turned to leave.

"No, of course not." The duke shook his head.

***

"What is going to happen to the boy now?" Treize wanted to know, as he and Rashid settled into a pair of armchairs in the sitting room.

The captain gave a little shrug. "The usual. First he will stay at the S.A.U. office until his wounds are healed and his condition has improved. Then he will be put up for auction. I don't think that we will have much trouble selling him."

No, Treize was sure they wouldn't. Wufei was young, beautiful and spirited; people were willing to pay a high prize for something like that. Unfortunately there was really no guarantee that his next owner wasn't going to treat him the same way Dermail did.

There was a long moment of thoughtful silence before Rashid asked: "Is there anything else I should know about?"

Treize gave an amused snort. "What makes you think that?"

"We are friends for long enough for me to know that you rarely ever tell the whole story the first time around." Rashid smirked. "Something tells me that you are interested in the boy, I'm not only talking about physical attraction."

"Well, since you seem to know me so well, there is not reason denying it, is there?" the duke remarked sarcastically. But then he grew serious. "I believe I have seen the boy before. I don't think I ever met him, so perhaps I saw a picture of him somewhere. Could you find out more about his past; when and where he was captured and under what circumstances?"

"I think I should be able to do that. It might take a while though, depending on how far back you want me to go."

Treize nodded in acknowledgement.

"Shall we start taking your statement for the report?" the captain asked.
The duke gave another nod. Rashid pulled out a small recorder to log the conversation for his records.

***

Once the doctor had finished her examination, she and Milliardo joined the captain and Treize in then sitting room.

The blond slave pulled his chair next to the duke's so that he could cuddle up against his master's body. Instinctively Treize wrapped his arm around the young man and ran his fingers through the long, silvery hair.
Milliardo barely listened to the conversation that was going on. He closed his eyes and stifled a yaw.

"Tired?" Treize asked caringly.

"Just a little," the blond answered. He was way too comfortable right now to have his master send him to bed…alone.

Milliardo heard the door bell ring and a couple minutes later the butler came into the room to inform them of Duke Dermail's arrival.

Treize exchanged a long look with captain Rashid. "Thank you, Evans. Please show him into this room."

"As you wish, your Excellency." The grey-haired man bowed and departed to return a few moments later with the duke.

"Duke Dermail," Treize rose from his chair, as he greeted the man.

Dermail answered the greeting with a curt nod. "I hope I'm not coming at an inconvenient time?" he asked with a quick glance at the other people in the room.

"Not at all. Would you care to take a seat?" Treize offered politely.

"No, actually if you don't mind I'd just like to retrieve my slave and be on my way."

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid the boy isn't going anywhere." Rashid informed the man.

The duke turned toward the tall Arab who was seated in a chair to the left of Treize.

"And who are you to decide that?" he wanted to know.

"I'm Captain Rashid Kurama, from the local S.A.U. office."

Dermail's brown furrowed. "Would somebody care to explain to me what is going on? What's the S.A.U. doing here?"

"I'm here to take custody of the slave Mr. Khushrenada found on his property." the captain explained.

"Wufei is my slave. Do I have to present you with ownership papers?"

Rashid shook his head. "He was your slave," he corrected the duke. "The S.A.U. has taken possession of him."

"You have no right to do that. I paid a lot of money for that boy."

"It is not only right, but my responsibility to interfere in cases of severe abuse like this one."

"What is he talking about?" Dermail's head turned toward the ex-colonel.

"About the fact that the boy is malnourished and that I could give you a whole list of injuries he has." Captain Kurama told the duke.

"Wufei is still being trained. He is one of the most disobedient and rebellious slaves I have ever owned. And yes my trainer might have taken the whip to him a time or two when it became necessary. If you don't discipline them and show them who is in control you will end up with something like him." Dermail gestured at Milliardo.

"With all due respect, Duke, are you saying my slave is out of control?" Treize asked calmly.
"He attacked one of my men," the duke pointed out.

"He merely stopped him from beating the boy to death," the ginger-blond man corrected.

Milliardo opened his mouth but before he could say anything his master stopped him. "Milliardo, why don't you go, check on Wufei and stay with him until I send for you."

The blond nodded. "Yes, Master."

"This is not your first confrontation with the S.A.U., is it? If I remember right one of your slaves died last winter from a beating he received during training." Rashid stated.

"Yes that's correct," Dermail confirmed. "It was an unfortunate accident and I was fined for it."

"Accident?" Sally echoed. There was a distinct trace of disgust and outrage in her voice. "Bumping into somebody on the street or spilling a cup of coffee is an accident. Beating another human being to death is not."

***

Wufei woke up slowly. The first thing he noticed was that the pain, which had been throbbing in his arm for the last few days, had lessened considerably. He felt warm and comfortable. For a moment he just lay there and enjoyed that feeling. When he finally opened his eyes he realized that he was lying under soft white sheets in a bed, his arm was bandaged and he was…NUDE!!! How and when this that happen?

Fighting down panic, Wufei tried to recall what had happened. He remembered the two men who had found him…Dermail's headhunters…the kick to his head. Had he been recaptured and taken back to the duke? No, that couldn't be. Dermail would most likely put him in chains not into a bed.

Wufei tensed when he heard the door to his room open slowly, but relaxed as soon as he recognized the longhaired, blond slave.

"I see you are awake." Milliardo smiled reassuring.

"Where am I? And why am I here?" the boy wanted to know.

"You are at my master's mansion. You remember him? He didn't agree with the way those two goons treated you, so he brought you here and called the S.A.U."

Wufei tried to move into a sitting position. It proofed difficult to push himself up and try to prevent the sheets from slipping from his upper body at the same time, with only one arm to use. "Who undressed me?" he asked.

"I did… together with Doctor Po. She needed to examine you and document all the injuries on you body."

"A woman doctor?" Wufei could feel heat creep into his cheeks.

Milliardo chuckled softly. "Relax; you have nothing she has not seen before."

The Chinese lad glared at him.

"I've got some good news. The way things you are not going to be returned to your master the duke."

"Good news? If I'm not being returned to him I'll to be sold to somebody else. What difference does it make?" Wufei asked with a tinge of bitterness.

"Sometimes it does make a difference. Trust me," Milliardo replied. "Not every master is like the duke. You could get lucky."

Wufei snorted.

"How are you feeling?" the blond asked.

"Tired," the boy admitted.

Milliardo nodded. "It's probably from the medication Doctor Po gave you."

Before Wufei could react the young man reached out to touch his forehead. The boy frowned but didn't draw back.

"It feels like your fever has gone down somewhat. You should try to go back to sleep though. You body needs the rest."

***

"He didn't take this too well," Rashid remarked, as the duke had left the room.

"I didn't think that he would." Treize answered thoughtfully. "I'm certain we haven't heard the last from him in this matter."

"Wouldn't you think he would avoid attracting more attention to himself? I mean he should realize that we will be looking over his shoulder from now on. And unless he starts treating his slaves differently he might loose them all," Sally said.

The ex-colonel gave her a very soft and polite smile. "The duke is an extremely wealthy and powerful man. People like him are used to get what they want when they want it. He won't give up without a good fight."

Sally frowned. "If that's the case, your Excellency, aren't you afraid that you might have made yourself an enemy by calling us?"

Another name to add to already long list, Treize thought with a slight hint of cynicism. "Doctor, let me assure you there was never much love lost between our families. We socialize out of necessity but that's it. And if push comes to shove I can very well hold my own against the man."

"Oh, I have no doubt about that, the young woman replied.

"I was wondering, Captain, let's say somebody would want to buy the boy right away rather than waiting for an auction, is that possible?"

"Yes, but that person still would have to wait until all formalities are taken care off, which can take a week or two; or longer, if the duke really decides to fight tooth and nails."

"I see." Treize nodded. "Can he remain here, while I consider if I want to buy him or not?"

"Treize, I assure you that he will be safe at the S.A.U. office," Rashid told him. "Things have changed a lot since the day you bought Milliardo."

"I'm sure they have, but I would rather keep him near and get to know him a little before I make a decision."

"Well, by law I'm not really allowed to do that. However…" The captain looked at Sally. "If the doctor has any misgiving about moving the boy…?"

"You really beat me too it, Captain. I was just about to say that I'm somewhat worried about his head injury. It might be better if we don't have to transport him right now."

"If that's the case, I'm afraid I have no choice," Rashid replied with all the seriousness he could master. "Who am I to argue with medical advice?"

***

Milliardo looked up from the book he was reading at the sound of the door opening.

"How is he doing?" his master asked quietly.

"He just fell asleep."

"Milliardo, I need to talk to you. Let's go into the study."

The blond salve nodded. He put his book down on the table, as rose to follow Treize. They settled down on the couch in the study, and Evans served them tea and a plate of freshly baked cookies.

"One lump of sugar or two?" the grey-haired butler asked Milliardo.

"One, please. Thank you," the young man replied.

"My pleasure."

Milliardo liked his master's personal servant, but he still felt awkward about being waited on by the old man. He took a sip from his tea and looked up at the duke. "Is Wufei going to stay here?" Milliardo had heard the Captain and Dr Po leave a little earlier.

Treize nodded. "Yes, he will stay…for the time being. That's why I wanted to talk to you. I'm considering buying the boy, but that's a decision I didn't want to make without hearing how you would feel about that?"

The blond stated at his master in surprise. "How I feel about it?"

"Yes," Treize confirmed. "You have been here for more than a year now and during all this time I could give you my undivided attention. If I bring a second slave into this house, that will change somewhat. But I don't want you to feel as though I'm looking to replace you, or that you have to compete with him for my attention. So, what do you think?"

Milliardo frowned. This was a hard decision to make for somebody who most of his life hadn't been allowed to decide the smallest thing. He knew that it would be selfish to tell Treize not to buy the boy. But part of him wanted to do just that; wanted to be selfish. He didn't want anything to change between him and his master. He didn't want to share, because for the first time in a very long time he was truly happy. But then there was another part of him that told him that Wufei deserved that same kind of happiness.

Finally the blond sighed inwardly. "I think if you decide to buy him I can live with that. I believe that Duke Dermail was right about one thing. Wufei is very strong willed and defiant. Not many masters would tolerate that. At least here he wouldn't be mistreated."

The ex-colonel smiled softly as he pulled his blond slave into his arms, kissing him tenderly.

"Somehow I knew you would say something like this. And of course Wufei and you can keep each other company at times when I can't take you with me on a trip."

And not to forget that he is really cute, Milliardo thought.

***

After serving the tea Evan's went down to the kitchen to talk to Anne, the head of the cooking staff. Dr Po had given him a list concerning the new slave's nutritional needs.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Evans?" the corpulent woman asked. Anne was in her early 50th. She had started working for the Khushrenada family as a kitchen maid, long before the duke was born.

"Master Treize wants you to check this list to see if we have everything in the house that's needed. It's the diet plan for the boy, the new slave he brought home. The doctor says he will have to be on a special diet for a while.

"That poor child. It's a pity how some people treat their slaves."

"That it is, Miss Anna," the butler agreed sorrowfully. "But there is nothing you or I can do about it."

When the man was just about to leave she stopped him.

"You are not in a great hurry, are you Mr. Evans?"

"I believe I'm free at the moment? Why, do you require some help?"

"No, I put an extra batch of cookies in the oven and I was just about to put on a new pot of tea. I was wondering if you would like to join me for a cup."

"Your famous sugar cookies? They are just too delicious to resist?" the butler answered. "Why don't you just site down, Miss Anna, and I'll take care of the tea."

"Oh, Mr. Evans, you are such a charmer. You always know the right thing to say to make a woman feel good, don't you?" Anna laughed. "Just like Master Treize. No wonder women are drawn to him like moths to the light. What a pity that he has no interest in them."

"That, I believe, is none of our business." Evans replied, as a put the teakettle on the stove to heat some water.

The woman sighed. "I know."

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T.B.C.

Author's Note:

Feedback is greatly appreciated, constructive criticism is welcome :-)