Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Breaking Point ❯ Day 1 ( Chapter 1 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Jamie sat in the darkest corner of his prison. That's what he considered it at least. He was looking at the ground at the moment. He didn't even look at the cage door. He had a few bruises on his body, but it was from punishment. He always got punished. He was just difficult and stubborn. On his shoulders, he had three tattoos, chain, dagger and hand cuffs, which was probably why his hands were cuffed behind him. He was able to move around the cell if he wanted to, but he refused to go anywhere in the light. He did not want a master and he did not obey even if he got one. He wasn't new to slavery. He would not accept the fact that he was a slave and that he would be owned by another person. He would never accept it.

He sighed softly as he sat at the back of his cell. This was so boring. He shifted slightly and let his legs straighten out. For now, no one was in his cell so he was safe. He was betrayed so he would never trust anyone again. He wouldn't open up and he wouldn't let anyone get to him. He rarely showed any other emotion other than anger. He was in a calmed state for now though. He was very relaxed, trying to save his strength for when he would need it.

There were a lot of different sounds here. He didn't know how he could relax when there was so much noise, but he was able to. He shut his eyes, letting his guard down slightly, but he listened carefully, just in case he needed to open his eyes. This was something he always did. He slept very little, which was probably very unhealthy for him, but he didn't really care. He would rather die than to be owned by another person. To him, it wasn't right at all.

Having not gained any response from the young slave girl, Esme continued on, pacing down the rows of cages, looking into each one lightly. He could almost smell their fear, taste their anxiety; none of them seemed to have the drive that he was looking for. Either they were silently brooding, or they had accepted their fate, neither of which he was looking for in a slave. Stopping by a seemingly empty cage, he looked at the name plate, glancing at the figure inside.

"Jamie...", he tested the name, it was a good name, not one that he disliked, he tapped the cage with his cane curiously, waiting to see if the figure would jump away or lash at him.

Jamie had been listening carefully and he heard the echoing of footsteps. They were getting closer. He now made sure that his knees were against his chest as his blue eyes opened. He was looking at the cage door, not much to see from his angle. He didn't sit close to the cage door because that gave people too much opportunity for people to see him or whatever. He could tell that someone was standing at the cage door though. He was now alert so the clank of the cane against the cage didn't make him move at all.

He did however watch the door. The man had said his name. He didn't really care if his name had been said. "Go away!" he said angrily. He didn't know his place and people had tried to teach it to him many times over, but he refused to learn it. He refused to accept his fate as a slave. He would never believe it. His voice was angry and cold. It wasn't a manly voice, but it wasn't soft either. It was hard to describe.

Esme smirked a broad, cruel smirk before crouching and running his fingers over the bars of the cage. Interesting...

He looked at the boy, or at least what he could see of him, though that wasn't much more than a pair of big blue eyes and a vague outline of where his body was. He looked strong, and obviously not yet broken of his free will; he could see in those eyes, a fire burning, one that he hadn't yet seen in this place.

"Interesting...", he said in a chilly voice, "very interesting...", he stood, "Guard?", guards came over, "how much for this one?"

The violation of the tattoos on his body had been unbearable. He had passed out half way through the second, not so much from pain, but from the anger and disbelief this would be done to an unwilling child of nature. He had woken hours later in the back of a near-empty truck. His shoulder still smarted, but had already begun to heal a little. The truck came to an abrupt halt and the doors swung open. Delicious sunlight flooded the eyes, nearly blinding the young man. He was dragged out and marched into a dark building where the smell screamed of unwashed bodies and pain.

Unnerved and unprepared, Flurin was thrown into a holding cell and left. He gingerly sat down in a far corner and played his favorite bird-song in his mind, a butterfly was already conjured in his hands.

Jamie moved when the man outside of his prison called the guard. He stood up and moved in closer to the wall. He couldn't really defend himself. All he had was his legs and mouth basically. He could bite and kick.

The guard looked at the name on the plate. Oh, Jamie. Great. He wondered if this sell would be final. Jamie was always being returned. He was not as expensive as most of the other slaves. He named a price for Jamie, which was actually a pretty cheap price for a slave. He was only going for two hundred, not like other slaves who were five hundred and above that. Jamie's value had gone down each time he had been returned.

Jamie glared, not wanting to have a master or be bought. He just glared at the guard and the man who seemed to be interested in him.

Esme looked at the guard curiously.

"Why so cheap?", he asked; the guard gave a curt laugh.

"This one's been returned so many times for violence, I'm wondering why a slight young man like you would be interested in him.", Esme smirked down at the cage that housed his interest, he was violent? If he had been returned enough times to drive his price down so low, Esme would have bet that this 'Jamie' was a real show boat when it came to disobedience.

"Is that so...", giving a deciding nod, the immortal dug out the asked amount of money, this being was cheaper than he usually wanted, but as it sounded, this one would be a decided amount of more fun. "I'll take him", he said lightly.

Jamie was attempting to get out of his bonds. It would be easier if he could use his hands. He couldn't get his hands free though. He would have to figure out how to get out of this, but he didn't know how he would get out of it. He couldn't believe this was happening. Another master. If this kept up, he would go down to free and even the poor could buy him. He wondered what he was going to do. He had been listening to the conversation between the guard and the man. He was being bought? He struggled against the cuffs even more.

The guard unlocked the cell. He knew that Jamie was violent. Since he bangles couldn't be see, nor his tattoos, he was more or less able to do whatever. Jamie made sure that his back wasn't to the wall. The guard started to approach him cautiously. He reached out to grab Jamie, but Jamie didn't let the guard's hand grab him. He bit him and he bit him hard. He heard the guard cry out and then he stopped before he ducked down, dodging the arm that was swinging around to grab him and did a round house kick, knocking the guard off of his feet and to the ground. "I am not going to be bought and sold off to anyone!" he protested, kicking the guard hard in the stomach. He had taken out the guard, knowing that either he was going to have to fight more guards at once or he was going to be drugged.

It had only been a few moments, at least that's what it seemed, since Flurin was dumped unceremoniously into his cell. It was dark, dank, moldy and reeked of older things gone or rotting. Despite all this, and the pain in his back, he was already settling in, getting comfortable and attuned to his surroundings.

Tired of hearing only the sounds of people (and other things) crying, or calling out, he conjured up the sound of a brook and more birdsong. He closed his eyes, even as his butterfly started to flutter about the cell.

To the best of his knowledge now, he was just sitting in a cave near a river at night. A smile traced itself along his lips and he sighed happily.

Esme watched in a tired sort of way as the guard tried and failed to capture his new possession, he was used to this kind of behavior. Without a word he pulled the small nub off of the bottom of his cane, revealing a needle dripping with a powerful tranquilizer. He waited until the boy was within distance, listening as guards started to come down the hall due to the commotion and stuck the boy remorselessly with the sedative covered needle. This was why he carried his cane around with him, it was specially made just for him, for whatever purpose he saw fit.

"Good, will you pick him up please?", turning he started pacing down the corridor again, not waiting for the men to respond.

Esme stopped suddenly at the out of place sounds, they sounded like- birds? Turning his gaze upon the cell he was currently passing, he caught sight of a rather expensive looking being sitting in the corner of the cell.

"You", he snapped, pointing at the figure through the bars, "what's your name?"

The music ended abruptly and the butterfly vanished. Flurin's eyes flew open and he was suddenly tense, not matter how much time he spent amongst humans, he thought he might always react like a deer. He focused on the man who had spoken to him. "My name?" He smiled and blinked, "My mother called me Flurin. But I've been called other things. I suppose Flurin is right to use with people though, right?" He shifted and came closer to the cage door. "What's your name?"

"My name is Esme", the immortal looked Flurin over lightly, "what manner of being are you?" Esme tapped the bar gently with his cane, just as he had with the other slaves that he had stopped to look at. "Do you always look so scared?", his eyes were cold as they looked the boy over, he was a beautiful creature, not his usual type though, this one spoke of nothing but obedience, yet for some reason, Esme found him interesting.

This man seemed less friendly than he had first imagined, but Flurin didn't sense any immediate danger, besides, there were these sturdy bars...

"You mean what kind of being am I? Well..." he trailed off in thought for a moment, thinking back to the last time he tried to answer the question for his captors. They had not liked his ramblings so he gave him the basic answer, "My father was a human and my mother is a Nymph. So I'm half of each." He nodded his head, as if to solidify the thought and sat back. "I'm not always scared, I just get startled is all, when I get caught dreaming mostly."

Flurin tried a smile on the man, hoping he would warm up a bit. He sighed a bit, the iron in the bars made him a little uncomfortable.

Jamie had made the mistake of not watching the man who had purchased him. He felt something puncture his skin. He winced slightly. Why was he getting so weak? He must have just been drugged, but with what? This was different from what the guards usually gave him. It was fast acting. It was amazing that he stayed standing for so long. Then he fell to the ground, the drug causing him to basically become paralyzed. His blond hair fell over his face.

The guard heard the customer speak and he nodded slightly. He went into the cell after he was sure that Jamie was no longer able to move. Then he picked him up the paralyzed blond before taking him to his new master, not sure what he should do with the boy once he caught up with the customer. "Cheap shot," Jamie said softly. He couldn't move so he couldn't fight against the guard that was now holding him.

Esme's eyes didn't move away from the creature as the guard came up to him, instead he spoke to the man, holding eye contact with Flurin as he did.

"How much for this one", he heard his other purchase shoot something like- "cheap shot" at him and turned to give him a threatening glare before turning back to the halfling.

"That one's seven hundred and fifty", the guard said lightly; Esme smirked in an almost threatening way.

"I'll take him..."

The half-fey watched the goings on and saw the paralyzed person just beyond. He got nervous again, he didn't want to be paralyzed either...

Eyes wide, he made room for the door to open and sat still, waiting for direction. The guard took him by the arm and dragged him out roughly, binding him securely. He was glad they hadn't shackled him again, he had gotten a nasty rash from the first time, iron was hardly healthy for anyone with fairy blood. Either way, Flurin hardly protested, after all, the man was far bigger than him and he had little chance of getting away with so many others like him.

Turning to Esme he asked, "Where are you taking me? Do I have to be tied up?" He suddenly missed the forest and saving shadows in the trees.

"Well I suppose that depends...", he loomed over the halfling, tapping his cane on the cold stone floor. His voice was soft, but none the less commanding, "are you going to run?", a smirk crossed his lips, "this one fought...and you see where that got him..." Running a gloved hand over the being's cheek, he waited for an answer.

Jamie simply rolled his eyes. "I'm not scared of you," he said to Esme. The bangles on his wrist said that he was disobedient and deceiving. He would get this man back for what he had done. Oh, when he could move again, this guy was going to get it. He couldn't believe he had underestimated this man. Where was he hiding the needle though? He noticed that someone else was being bought. He wondered why this guy was even buying slaves. Jamie would totally get Esme back for this.

Turning from the halfling that he was talking to, Esme looked at Jamie with cold eyes.

"You are wearing on my patients...", he snapped, "you will learn to fear me or so help me, this will become very painful for you" Turning back to Flurin, he seemingly did a total 180 with his expressions, giving the creature a sweet smile.

Flurin eyed the other and then looked back to Esme and shrugged. "I don't know about him, but I don't have any reason to run, do I?" He tried not to sound scared, he wasn't really. His instincts were telling him he was safe enough. That didn't do anything for his nerves. The touch on his cheek though made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Those gloves... "Those gloves... what're they made of?" He almost didn't want to know.

Jamie heard what Esme said to him. "Oh really? Sounds like fun. Maybe you'll actually be a challenge then. Everyone else who said that ended up returning me or in the hospital and having someone else return me," he said. He was being very disobedient to Esme on purpose. He didn't care if he would be beaten for it. He didn't care about much at all.

Esme glanced at the gloves for a second, they were pure silk, the softest in the world, imported from china. They were a beautiful white color, a color that he greatly cherished because it was one of the few colors he actually agreed to wear in public.

"They are made of Chinese imported silk...why do you ask?", he glanced at the halfling, his eyes giving a sizing look to his possession.

Turning from the halfling that he had just bought, Esme paced towards the human and took his chin in between his gloved fingers and drew him down so he was barely an inch from his face. His voice was a chilling one.

"You will get your chance, but until then be a good little human", he said tauntingly before kissing the boy full on the mouth and pulling away before he could react, making sure to get out of what little range he had. Then, taking Flurin by the arm, he led him away and asked the guard that was carrying Jamie to follow.

"They feel..." so many images rushed through his mind, of high mountains and thing leafy trees, of strange bears and more people, but mostly of boiling water and worms who’d never be butterflies. "They feel so... dead." He shrunk back a little away from the gloves banished the thoughts from his mind.

Shaking his head, he looked up at the man, angry. "Why would you wear something that came from so much death and waste?" He glared for a moment then cast his eyes down again.

"Can we go now?" he asked quietly.

Jamie just glared at Esme. He was thrown off when Esme kissed him. This was not right. Yes, Jamie was bi, but still. He didn't expect anyone to kiss him. He still couldn't move so he couldn't really go after Esme. Well, he could have tried to bite Esme, but he pulled away too quickly. "You jerk!" he shouted.

The guard just simply followed the customer. They needed to get rid of such a rebellious slave like Jamie.

Giving no immediate response, Esme gently hooked his cane on his elbow and started fishing off the glove that was on his dominant hand and tucking it into his pocket before taking the Halfling’s arm once more.

"Is that better?", he asked, slightly disliking the feel of his skin against another being's, he wasn't used to it anymore. It had been so long since he had touched another person, really touched them. The last person to hold his hand and not a gloved hand was his mother, and that had been a very long time ago. Almost long enough where he didn't remember what it had felt like anymore. He couldn't remember her face anymore, so the just barely remembrance of what it had felt like to hold her hand was all he had left anymore.

Shaking those thoughts from his head, he moved to leave the shop, taking his purchases with him.

Finally, Esme led the guard that he had paid to carry Jamie all the way to his home, through the doors to the foyer, Flurin still on his arm.

"Place him on the couch", the immortal said lightly before setting Flurin on the couch and sitting effeminately against a desk that he obviously used routinely. This was only obvious because of the many stacks of papers on it.

"A few ground rules", he said lightly, "you are not to eat without my permission. You are to do what I tell you when I tell you, no questions asked. You may drink, but you are only allowed to drink from the well that is on the grounds. You are not to go into the kitchen for any reason, if I or one of my servants catches you in the kitchen I will revoke your meals until I see that you have suffered for your crime. You may be disobedient if you so choose, but be warned-" He turned an icy gaze on Jamie, his voice almost cold enough to drop the temperature in the room to freezing, "there will be stiff consequences for such behavior."

Jamie was getting some of his movements back. The drug was wearing off slightly. He was placed on the couch by the guard and he just lay there, not moving, trying to act like he was still under the affect of whatever drug he had been given. He listened to the rules, but only so he could break them all. He saw Esme's gaze on him. He just glared back at him and stuck his tongue out before stopping. The guard had left. Jamie still had his arms cuffed behind him, his skin irritated slightly because of the struggling earlier. His wrist felt warm too. That meant that he was bleeding. Great, he just hoped that he hadn't cut into a major artery or something.

Esme sighed when he noticed that Jamie was bleeding and quietly asked one of the maids to get some bandages, hot water, antiseptic and a small tarp for him to place under his annoying new purchase. A few moments later, the maid returned with the requested items and Esme took the first aid items as she laid out the tarp.

"Kneel", he said in an almost gentle tone.

Jamie pretended that he hadn't heard what Esme said. He was not going to be obedient and that was that. He didn't care how much he bleed or that he was probably getting blood on Esme's couch. He was a stubborn boy. Most people just accepted the fact that they were slaves and stuff like that. Most people didn't want a stubborn, disobedient slave. Plus, he was still pretending to be under the affects of the drug. "I'm sorry, did you say something?" he asked sarcastically.

Giving a cruel smirk, Esme reached down and grabbed the boy’s wrist mercilessly. He knew that this was painful for him, he knew that it could be dangerous, but still he wrenched Jamie up by it. Running his tongue up the boy's arm, he lapped up the blood and bit the boy suddenly, his teeth sinking into his already deep cut.

"Kneel!", he growled, forcing the boy to his knees and keeping him there as he uncuffed one of the boy's wrists and cuffing it to his opposite wrist before gently applying antiseptic and bandaging the wound.

Jamie didn't expect what happened next. He winced slightly, but he didn't let out any sound. He shut his eyes tightly as the teeth sunk into his cut. It was painful, but he was very good at hiding pain. He wasn't even shaking. He was still trying to keep up his act of still not being able to move. He noticed that this man was applying the antiseptic gently as well as bandaging the wound. He shut his eyes, not sure what to do. He forced himself not to move. If he was going to keep this act up, he couldn't move.

Once the wound was bandaged, Esme gave it a ghost of a kiss before unhooking the handcuff from his own wrist and putting it back on Jamie's. Then he moved on to the other wrist, giving it the same treatment save for the biting.

"You need to learn your place", the immortal said gently, making a point to sound calmer than he actually was, "I don't want to have to hurt you..."

Jamie had no idea what he should do. This was so weird. He had had so many things happen to him over the years, but this was not something that happened. He listened carefully and rolled his eyes. "I wonder how many times I have heard that," he said to Esme. He still was not being obedient. This was really weird. Everyone wanted to hurt Jamie after a while, even his own family. He didn't care that he was not moving right now. He knew he had to time it perfectly.

Finishing with the other wrist, Esme gently buckled the handcuff back in its original place. But he didn't pull away when he had finished, instead he grabbed a hold of the chain that linked the two cuffs and slammed it to the floor, grounding the boy before him in a kneeling position with surprising strength.

"I warn you now", he said in a low, threatening voice, "any master you have had before me; I am not like them. I will not show restraint, I will not die if you try to kill me and I will not stop until you are mine" His other hand came up to cup the boy's chin in a strong and painful hold, "is that clear?"

Jamie heard what he said. He wouldn't die if he tried to kill him? That was an interesting thing to say. He glared at Esme and thought for a moment. He answered his new master by spitting in his face. He didn't say anything. He didn't try to move and this man was going to get extremely annoyed and mad at him. He didn't care though. It was a lot of fun to toy with people.

Bringing his hand back, Esme viciously raked his fingernails across Jamie's face, a deep glare set into his face. Without remorse, he yanked on the cuffs that bound the boy’s wrists. A smirk caught on his lips and leaning down he whispered into his slave’s ear, pulling the cuffs over the boys head and back until his arms were at a painful angle.

"You like pain, don't you...", he smirked, his voice a cruel one, "then let me please you" almost instantly Esme stood, keeping one foot on the chain that connected the cuffs and grabbed his cane, hitting the boy ruthlessly before dumping an ice bin of water on the slaves back and hitting him again.

"Come on young stallion, scream, show me you like this pain", the look on his face was one of cruel enjoyment as he hit Jamie over and over. He was toying with him, making him bend to his will, treating him like a dog that needed to be whipped. When the bruises and welts started drawing blood, Esme's hitting slowed but did not stop. The only reason he was slowing at all was so the sting of the first lash didn't dull him to the sting of the second.

Jamie was a little surprised when he heard that. It hurt a lot to have his arms at such an angle. It's not that he liked pain, he was just used to it. The pain only became worse when he was beat with the cane. He stayed focused on other pain, the pain in his arms. He didn't responded to the beating, didn't scream and he didn't cry. He sometimes believed that he could no longer cry at all. He had to bite his lip though, in order to keep himself from making any sound. He shut his eyes.

There was no way he would give into this man, no matter how much he was beaten or how much he was threatened. He was in a lot of pain, but he couldn't exactly do anything about it since his he was in this position. His back was stinging with each new hit. He shut his eyes tighter and wondered what he was going to do.

Finally Esme stopped hitting the boy but did not release him from his bonds but instead asked one of the maids to bring him salt and lemon juice. His eyes locked on the boy, the blood running down his back from the welts that he had raised. Running his fingers over the cuts he brought them back and lapped the blood off with his tongue.

"Perfect..."

Jamie was panting softly. He heard the request that the man gave the maid. He bit his bottom lip a bit harder when Esme touched his cuts. He wondered what all this man would do to him. He heard what he said and he opened his eyes slightly, but he was staring at the ground. He was still forcing himself to stay still. If this went on, he would pass out.

"Are you done yet?" he asked, hiding the pain very well.

Giving a cruel smirk as the maid brought in a basket of sliced lemons and a jar of salt Esme took one and knelt down to smirk at Jamie.

"Now comes the real fun", he whispered before squeezing the lemon in his hand, watching the slaves face intently as the acidic fluid landed and splashed into the gashes that Esme had made. He leaned close enough to whisper into Jamie's ear.

"Go ahead, scream", he taunted before grabbing another lemon and squeezing it over the boys back as well before lapping up a little of the excess from his fingers. Then he reached for the salt. Pouring just a little into each bleeding, sore wound.

Jamie's eyes widened when he heard what Esme said. Then he shut his eyes when the fluid went into his cuts. He still refused to scream or cry out. He would not beg. He would pass out before he did any begging. There was extreme pain when the salt entered the wounds. He could stay still. There was so much that he could take. He attempted to pull his arms out of the position they were in, but he still didn't make a sound.

Liking the reaction he got, Esme poured more salt into the wounds; running his tongue up the shell of the slave’s ear.

"It's just going to get worse if you don't scream for me", he whispered, "next comes vinegar" A cruel smile came over his lips and he put the salt back, grabbing another lemon and asking the maid to get him a bottle of vinegar.

Jamie shut his eyes tightly. This hurt so much, but he couldn't give into this man. He heard that vinegar was coming next. "I will never scream for you," he said to Esme stubbornly. He couldn't get his arms away from Esme. He knew something was going to give soon. He hated this, but he was too stubborn to give in.

The maid brought in the vinegar and Esme smirked, pouring a bit into the wounds and watching Jamie's face. He waited a moment for the stinging to stop before leaning over and biting into one of the deeper gashes. Tugging enough to cause a little more pain, he pulled back and poured more vinegar into the cuts as the pain from the first round of vinegar had just barely subsided.

Damn this kid’s stubbornness, but he didn't know how persistent Esme could be.

Jamie was shaking slightly now. The pain was getting to be too much. He struggled slightly and kept himself from screaming. He didn't know what would give first. He felt Esme bite him again. He didn't scream. He couldn't, he couldn't give in. He shut his eyes tightly. Soon enough though, getting more vinegar in his wounds, it was more or less it. He let out a scream of pain. He couldn't believe he had screamed. The cuts burned, it hurt so much.

A crooked smile came over Esme's lips, he had heard that, no matter how soft it was, no matter how much the boy would deny it; he had heard Jamie scream. Kissing the boy's ear, he bent and took the chain that linked the cuffs in his hand. Ever so gently, he raised the boy up, stretching him so he was on his knees, his arms reaching for the ceiling before he took a rag that one of the maids had placed on the table and dipping it into the now cold water that he had had a maid bring in earlier when he was tending the slaves wrists.

"Good boy", he crooned gently, "now this might hurt just a little", he pressed the cool, wet cloth to the wounds as gently as he could to clean the remnants of the painful materials from the boys wounds. He was being incredibly gentle.

Jamie did scream, but he was regretting it. He hadn't shed a single tear though. He turned his head when Esme kissed his ear. This was an act of defiance. He listened carefully to what Esme said. This man had to be bi-polar or something. One minute the man was cruel and cynical and the next he was very gentle and caring. He shut his eyes as Esme cleaned his wounds. He was still trying to plan a get back for everything this man had done and was doing. He was trying to steady his breathing now.

Finally he was done and Esme pulled away, coming to stand just out of Jamie's striking range.

"You may go bathe if you so desire...", he said lightly. Inside Esme was praying that he go bathe, he was getting slave stink all over his expensive furniture! But his face stayed cool and calm, he was going to dominate this human, he was going to make him submit!

Jamie listened calmly. His breathing calm. "What? Scared that I'll make all your expensive crap smell?" he asked. He thought for a moment. He moved his arms slightly. "Can't do that with my hands behind me, sorry." One could not do much with their hands bound behind them, that was true. It would be hard for him to actually get clean even if he did go to take one.

Esme was silent, the slave boy did have a good point, but he really didn't want his new investment to take the chance and run.

"I'll take you to the bathing room myself", he stated blandly before taking the younger boy by the hand and leading him down the stairs into a huge underground hot bath room. The tub looked more like a heated Olympic swimming pool with bubbles than it did a bath tub. It was lavish, huge fountains poured steaming water into the tub, keeping the bubbles conjured and the water clean.

"I do hope you don't need me to stand in here and watch you just to make sure you don't run off...", Esme said sardonically.

Jamie went with Esme more or less willingly, too tired to struggle. He was going to get a bath so that was good, better than just being sprayed with a hose he guessed. He heard what Esme said after they had arrived at the large tub. He felt the male unhand cuff him. He wasn't going to try and escape... yet. He had to figure out the best way to get out of here and not only that, he had to get Esme to trust him enough to keep the cuffs off. Then again, the tattoos and the bangles made that hard.

Deciding that it was safe to leave the boy in the bath alone, Esme paced out of the green house like basement and closed the door behind him. Heading up the stairs, Esme asked one of his maids to clean the foyer and show Flurin to a room that had been prepared for him. Then he sat to wait as Jamie bathed in the underground bathing room, which he often used as his personal bathing area on particularly stressful days.

Jamie took his bath, making sure he got clean. He sighed softly after he had taken the bath and gotten dressed. He went the way that he had been lead here. He rubbed his wrists slightly because this was the first time he had hand cuffs or any type of bonds off of him. He thought for a moment, wondering how he should trick Esme, obey? No, he couldn't just start obeying, that would be suspicious. He would continue misbehaving for a while. When he got upstairs he saw that Esme was waiting for someone, most likely him. "Think I'm going to try and get away?" he asked, looking at him. He spoke to announce his presence.

Esme looked up at the slave, his sudden talking having obviously startled the man as he took a sip from a half a glass of wine.

"No, you tasteless cur...I know that you are going to try and get away...", he offered the slave his glass, "here have a drink" The wine was a rich looking liquid, vibrant red with a few seeds left in it, clearly it was a home made wine, probably made on the grounds somewhere. He smiled when Jamie took the glass from his hand.

"That is why I am telling you now...", his voice didn't change as he placed the wine on a small table that sat beside the chair that the immortal was sitting in, in the hall, "if you so much as even think about leaving my grounds, if you entertain the idea that you might somehow get away and that leaving without my permission is within your grasp; what you received tonight will be minor compared to what I will do to you" The man stood, looming over the younger boy, his white hair coming to hang before his eyes, but not making him any less threatening. A stern glare was on his face, one that many had come to fear.

"I told you, I don't show restraint", he inched closer to Jamie, "or compassion", another inch was taken, "or mercy if you anger me."

Jamie heard what he said. Oh yes, Esme knew, just like all his previous 'masters' had known. He took the glass that was offered to him, but he had no intention of drinking it. He just set it down. He was actually half tempted to spill the wine all over Esme, but he decided against it. Right now, he knew that his body could not hold out through another punishment. He listened to what Esme was saying, but he didn't seem to care in the least about the contents or the threat in these words. He didn't care about the danger of making Esme angry.

He took a few steps back when Esme came closer and he continued to move back. "Restraint, compassion, and mercy, such things are not needed in a man such as yourself," he said sarcastically. "I don't need compassion from you or anyone else. Compassion is a sign of weakness, only fools show it and only fools allow themselves to give into the will of another." The last part was more of angry than the sarcasm he had been using before.

Flurin thought that at first, Esme was only trying to scare Jamie and himself. He kept telling himself, any moment, he would let the boy up and initiate something else. But when the beating started, and with that much fervor, Flurin could only stare in complete and disbelieving horror.

He stared, watching silently as the beating ensued and only became worse and worse. He didn't know it, but tears had started streaming down his face. He watched, helplessly, silently screaming in his mind. He wanted to lash out at this man, to stop this blatant disregard for another being's life... it enraged him, but he stood rooted like an ancient oak, unmoving.

When it was all over, and he was led away, he hardly knew what was going on. He was in shock. He just sat on the floor in his room and made himself a rock.

This wasn't happening..

Esme sniffed at the mans answer, and turned to pace back up the hallway, turning only when he came to the large staircase.

"A room has been prepared for you, I will try giving you as much freedom as I see that I can allow you with at the moment, for now I see none is fitting", giving a nod to the maid he headed up the stairs as the girl took hold of Jamie's cuffs and led him up the stairs as well, but Esme was gone before he reached the staircase.

Esme entered the room silently nearly an hour later. He didn't bother to lock the door, though he did close it.

"I came to apologize to you", he said in an almost gentle tone, one much different than he had used towards Jamie, "you have nothing to fear from me, I promise you this. So long as you do as you are told with little fuss, I will not harm you."

The boy didn't even flinch when Esme entered. He was nearly catatonic, and only managed to stare up at his new master with blank eyes. They were empty, seemingly devoid of a soul, a trait inherited from his mother's fey blood.

"You're more evil than mother said humans are." His voice was clear and even. He spoke matter-of-factly, as if he were perfectly fine. "You didn't just beat him, you enjoyed it." Emotion started to slowly fade into his eyes. Angry, hurt emotion. "Why?"

Oh, if only he had been a bear! Or a wolf! But such thoughts were unacceptable. All life was precious, even this man before him- his life was sacred too.

Jamie was actually expecting to be slapped or punched for the comment, but nothing of the sort came. His cuffs were replaced, that was just great. He didn't really have much choice but to go with the maid. For now, he knew that he needed rest. He would try to get the hand cuffs off, but only once he got into the room that had been prepared for him. He sighed softly as he was lead to it and went inside, door being locked behind him. "Good, I don't want to be our there anyway," he said softly and looked at the hand cuffs. He could see every detail. Now all he had to do was get the hair pin.

He sat down on the bed and got a hair pin, that he had stolen from his previous master's house, out of his hair. He then position his hands the right way and got to work. "I need to get to know the layout of this house," he said softly to himself.

Taking a slow step toward the boy he reached out and ran his fingers through the Halflings hair.

"Lessons should be taught with vigor", he said simply, his face stoic and emotionless. He hadn't really meant to scare the halfling, and he did regret that he had been there to witness it, but Jamie had needed to be taught a lesson and it had been best to start then.

Then he left, leaving the boy to his own.

Flurin nodded, accepting this man's answer and the gentle touch. There was still so much he did not understand about this world, and he supposed he had better learn soon, else he end up like Jamie, or worse.

Taking a deep breath to remind his heart he was alive he looked up again. "I didn't really mean why you hurt him. I meant... why did you enjoy it?" He paused and shook his head, "Never mind, it's not my place to question what moves you to do the things you do. I guess it's better to ask, why am I here?" He needed some kind of reassurance, and when Esme ran his fingers through his hair it called him.

So much was running through his near-empty head, and he was clinging to any form of reason he could. Being half human helped at least.

Smiling lightly, Esme took a step away from the boy and turned to leave, "you are here because you interest me", he said gently. Then he left, closing and locking the door behind him. Heading to his own room and pouring himself a glass of wine.

Esme waited patiently on the terrace that led out of his room and over looked the garden that looked into the room that he had given to Jamie. Taking a sip from his wine, he waited, that boy was going to try and escape.

"I wonder how long it will take him to actually do it..."

Jamie worked for a good ten to fifteen minutes before he had one hand free. He smiled. "Nice," he said and then worked on getting the other one off. It was easier than the last one since he had one hand free. The hand cuffs fell to the floor. "I love it when they cuff my hands in front of me." He got to his feet. He could probably pick the lock, but he didn't he went to the window and looked outside. He saw a garden. He wondered what would be the best way out of here.

Esme silently chuckled as he took another sip of his wine, this was really the only way out. He had made sure to post guards at the door of the slave's room, the window was the only way out. Shooting a glance at his cane which sat against the wall in the corner, he wondered if he was going to need it. Probably not, he had injured the boy pretty badly. Another sip of wine was taken.

Jamie knew that his door had been locked. The only way out of the room was the window. He moved away from the window. "All right, now I have to wait until I know this place better and wait until I get some rest," he said softly as he sat on the bed.

Finishing off his half a glass of wine, Esme placed the frail crystal cup on the table beside him. It was getting late, but he didn't mind, he wanted to see if the boy would leave. But he was growing tired, his head was getting fuzzy, so what was he to do? He wanted to handle this personally, he didn't want to post guards. Sadly though he was forced to and he watched wearily as two guards placed themselves on either side of the window, making sure they were out of Jamie's sight.

Making his way to his bed, Esme curled up on top of the blankets, not daring to crawl into them even though tonight was a crisp, chilly night. This was his parent's bed and though he may sleep in it, he would not claim it as his own. But he could not leave it either, he had to sleep here every night, or he could not sleep at all.

Jamie fell asleep on the bed. He was tired, very tired. His body was exhausted as well from the beating. He didn't wake until the next morning. He slowly opened his eyes, feeling much better than he had felt last night. He looked over the side of the bed and found the hand cuffs. He grabbed them and looked at them for a moment. Then he walked to the window, noticing guards. So they were there to make sure that he was not getting out the window.

He walked over to the door and checked it. It was unlocked. He opened the door and left the room. "Nice," he said. There were no guards. He thought for a moment and made his way around the house. He had spotted when Esme's room was when he was looking out the window. Soon enough, he arrived at the room and went into the room quietly. He looked around to see if Esme was in here.

Esme was laying curled up under a thin blanket, not under the main comforter even though it had been a cold night. He was curled up tight, fighting off the chill of the air around him, but-

If he was cold, why didn't he crawl under the thick layer of blankets that covered the bed under him.

Jamie looked at his master. The man looked nice and everything while he was sleeping or talking to the other slave he had bought. He thought for a moment and he smiled. He sneaked over to the bed and got to work. When he was done, he had his master handcuffed to the bed. Then he waited for his master to wake up, sitting at the end of the bed, would of reach of his master completely.

Esme slowly found himself becoming conscious, he was cold, groggy and slightly stiff as he always was in the morning. But something was different this morning, when he went to sit up he found something restraining his arms above his head.

"What?", he pulled, what ever was holding them did not give, he looked up, "hand- cuffs?", his head snapped to the side and cold violet eyes landed on Jamie.

"You"

Jamie looked at Esme. He smiled and showed that the handcuffs that held his master were the ones that held him before. "Me," he said to him. Then he stuck his tongue out at Esme. He knew that he was going to be in so much trouble when Esme got out of that.

Rattling the cuffs violently, Esme flipped his body over slightly and kicked at the slave whom was sitting in the chair. He was screaming in anger, vaulting his body up to kick at Jamie in all his anger, the fact that the boy was out of his reach only angering him even more.

"Release me this instant!", he hissed, his eyes shooting daggers at the man who was sitting away from him, rattling the cuffs more, the metal of his headboard bending. Seeing the headboard starting to give and desperately not wanting to break it for sentimental purposes, Esme reduced himself to simply glaring fiercely at the insolent slave.

Jamie watched Esme. He heard the command and he shook his head slightly. "No, don't think I will. Plus, I don't have the keys," he said.

At those words Esme seemed to momentarily forget the headboard and jerked the handcuffs violently again, this time the metal headboard gave and the bars that the hand cuffs were linked around broke. The immortal then vaulted onto the slave, his hands instinctively reaching for his throat.

"What do you mean you don't have the keys?!", he snapped, shaking the boy against the floor, the chains of the cuffs rattling as he did. Getting off the boy he got up and slammed around the room, throwing his tantrum. But when he saw the broken headboard he stopped suddenly, his demeanor becoming solemn and his eyes showing a sad hint of regret.

He'd broken it, after all of these years, after how clean he had kept the bed, after how carefully he had taken care of it, he had broken it in his anger.

"How could you...", he asked softly.

Jamie was surprised at Esme's strength. He shut his eyes for a moment. He didn't have the keys, he had picked the lock with a hair pin. He thought for a moment and he shut his eyes. He saw his demeanor change. "I didn't do anything, you are the one who broke the headboard," he said stubbornly.

"God damn it, I wasn't talking to you!", Esme snapped at his slave before gently starting to tuck up the bed covers that he had messed up.

'I'm sorry', he thought quietly, 'I'm sorry I ruined it', running his fingers over the jagged metal, he jumped slightly and pulled his hand away when he felt the rough edge slice his finger. The abused appendage instantly went into his mouth as it melodramatically dripped blood.

Finally defeated, Esme sat down on the floor and sucked on his injured finger.

Jamie watched Esme. The man had changed completely. He was sure that he would get more punishment that what Esme had done. He thought for a moment and he wondered if he should go break more rules. He slowly got up and he walked to the door, trying to think what rule would be best to break first.

"How did you get out of your room?", Esme asked softly not looking at the boy as he sucked on his finger. He was hoping that the bleeding would stop soon. Sadly it didn't really look like it was going to stop anytime soon and he briefly thought about getting a band-aid from his desk drawer.

Jamie heard Esme speak. He stopped for a moment. "I opened the door and walked out," he said to Esme sarcastically. He couldn't tell if Esme was mad or what. He knew that punishment would come later, especially when he broke more rules. He thought for a moment. "It's easy enough to do."

Finally getting tired of the taste of blood, Esme reached for the drawer of his bed side table and pulled out a small box of stick on bandages. Sadly the bandage proved impossible for him to open and he groaned a little before finally getting it open and having more trouble getting it on.

"Would-would you help me, please?", he asked the slave, not really caring that he was out of his cell right now. He would punish the boy later as well as the guards that had slacked in their duty of watching him.

Jamie looked at Esme when the question was asked. It would be hard for Esme to maneuver with hand cuffs, Jamie had found that out since he had been kept in them for most of the time he was a slave. He sighed softly and walked over, cautiously, since it was a request, not an order. It had given him a choice. He helped Esme with the bandage and he put it on the cut. Then he got up and moved away from Esme just in case he was going to grab him or something.

Without warning, Esme's cane came under the boy’s feet and knocked him to the ground. Even before he hit, Esme had him pinned, his hands over his head in a tight grip. He was very lithe, even with cuffs on, he smirked.

"Are all slaves as foolish as you are, or am I just lucky?"

Jamie was a bit surprised when he was knocked to the ground. He struggled under Esme. He looked up at him when he said that. He attempted to knee Esme in the stomach. "Get off and let go!" he shouted, not answering the question he had been asked.

Esme pushed the boy further against the floor roughly, placing his weight on the boys knees so that it would be painful if he moved. Then he watched. Waiting to see how the boy would react, his eyes never leaving Jamie's.

Jamie struggled under Esme. It hurt to move, he found. He didn't see a way to get out of this. He glared at Esme. "Get off!" he shouted at his apparent master, attempting to get his hands free. Why did it look like Esme was enjoying this? He probably was. Jamie was trying to figure out how to get out of this without hurting himself too much.

"There's no way out", Esme said softly as he watched Jamie look around. He was enjoying this, everything about this boy got him going, he had only known him a day and he was already looking forward to what would happen next. He already wanted to know what the boy was going to do. What was he thinking? What was going on behind those eyes?

Different thoughts ran through his head, different situations. He could bite the man because he couldn't even sit up. Wait, the handcuffs, that was it. He didn't move his eyes, he relied on his hearing to find the chain. His hands moved and so did his wrist, but this shouldn't draw too much attention since he was struggling anyway. He finally found the chain. He got a good grip on it and then pulled. That should do something, but he wasn't sure what. It might just make Esme even angrier.

The sudden removal of his hands as support under him robbed Esme of his balance and he fell forward landing on top of the slave. His grip didn't relinquish but his face became suddenly closer to Jamie's.

"You-", he glared pinkly at the man below him.

Jamie felt Esme fall on him. He saw how close the other male was to him. He had just made it even harder for himself. He glared right back at Esme. "Me," he said sarcastically. He struggled slightly and wandered what else he could do to get away. He didn't know how to get Esme off of him. He turned his head to the side defiantly.

Smirking just a little, the immortal leaned down and bit just under Jamie's jaw line before raising his head.

"I want to talk about you...", he whispered, leaning closer to the boy’s ear

"Stop struggling, I'm not hurting you", he said softly into the boy’s ear. Moving suddenly, he wrapped the chain that linked his handcuffs around Jamie's wrists and holding them down with all his strength.

Jamie shut his eyes when Esme bit him. He wasn't too surprised when Esme wrapped the chain around his wrists. "I don't want to talk to you," he said to Esme. "I'm not going to tell you anything about me so get off!" He knew that Esme had the advantage here. He struggled a little under his master.

Esme chuckled and put a bit more of his weight on the boy’s knees.

"Tell me", he snapped tightening the old of the cuffs on the boy’s wrist. A gentle kiss was placed just in front of Jamie's ear, "I want to know about you..."

Jamie shut his eyes. He could handle this. "I don't care what you want," he said stubbornly. "I am not going to tell you anything and quit kissing me!" He had stopped struggling because he had to reserve his strength.

"Why?", Esme asked, tracing the tip of his tongue into the shell of the boys ear. He wanted to know where this was going, wanted to know how this was going to pan out. How far could he push the line before the line was crossed? How far could he bend the boundaries before they broke?

Jamie shut his eyes tightly. This was weird and he didn't want it. What was this man trying to do? Break him through different means other than violence. "Because, I don't like you and I never will!" he shouted. He knew that he couldn't get his hands free. "Plus, you want to know things about me and I don't think it's any of your business."

Esme chuckled and nuzzled his nose against Jamie's cheek.

"It is my business", he hissed against the boys flesh, "I own you!" Tracing his lips across the tender flesh that he was so enjoying right now, he tightened the grip of the cuff chain around the boy’s wrists.

"You are mine"

Jamie couldn't believe this was happening. What was this man trying to do? He struggled a little. "I am not yours! I will never be yours!!" he shouted. He turned his head and looked up at Esme, glaring at him. Then he spit in his face for the second time since Esme had bought him. "Now get off of me!!"

Without a second thought, Esme pressed his mouth against the boys, waiting to gauge the reaction. This boy was a thrill, a puzzle that would well be worth cracking in the end. Every step was part of the game that he knew he was going to win. But knowing that he was going to win, didn't make it any less enjoyable.

Jamie was surprised when he was kissed roughly by the male. He struggled under Esme and tried to get free. Soon enough he turned his head in order to break the kiss. "Let me go," he said, angrily. He tried to get his knees out from under Esme. "Get off of me!"

"I will break you", Esme whispered heatedly into the slaves ear "I own you. I'm probably the only man who can and do you know why?" A tongue dipped out and he traced the boy’s earlobe before biting it gently.

"Because I just love a challenge!", easing a little more of his full weight onto the boys knees, he roughly jerked the boys wrists higher over his head.

"I'm going to make you wish that you were dead, but I'm not going to let you die. I'm going to make you beg for rules, for guidelines. You're going to want to submit when I am done with you...and when you prove to me, that you are obedient, when you love me more than your self, I am going to set you free, and you're not going to want to leave me..." His breath was warm in the slave’s ear as he laid out his plan for him. None of it was going to be sexual, he knew that already, he may have hinted at it, used underhanded means to get his way, but he was higher than to sleep with a possession.

'But then again, you never know' he thought to himself, 'maybe this will get interesting... '

Jamie listened carefully to what Esme was saying. He shut his eyes tightly when his arms were jerked. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He shook his head. "No, never!" he said. "I will never submit to you! I will never want like you, much less love you." He struggled a little, but it hurt even more. "Get off of me, you pervert."

Esme laughed in pure malice as he watched the boy do his best to fight him off with words alone. It wasn't working, Esme was both a patient and a persistent man; he didn't give up, give in, or take orders easily.

"I don't care whether you think you will or not", he crooned in a sultry voice, "all men have a breaking point, I just need to find yours..." His mouth moved down to the soft spot between the boys jaw and his throat.

"So where is it?", he asked coyly, giving the soft spot an almost rough nip, "how far do I have to go? How far beyond last night do I need to push to get you to your very edge?", he gave a low, vibrating laugh as his mouth proceeded down Jamie's throat.

"I need to know...so I can leave you standing on the edge of it..."

Jamie had never been this helpless before, well, except last night when he was viciously beaten by this man. He didn't make any sounds as the other male teased his neck, though that was a really sensitive part on his body. He didn't react. He knew how to keep that stuff hidden. He was now attempting to get his wrists out of the chain of the cuffs. He heard everything that was said. He would not give in.

"You'll never find out and you will never know," he said stubbornly to Esme. "You are not going to break me." Jamie had a very strong will and he wasn't easily broken. This man had wanted a challenge and he had gotten lucky.

Giving a dark chuckle, Esme gently scraped his teeth teasingly down the boy’s throat.

"Oh you think so?", he was mocking the boy and it was obvious, "what makes you so sure?" he asked. Noticing that the boy was trying to get free from the cuff chain, he tightened it to a painful pressure before returning his torturous attention back to Jamie's throat.

Jamie could tell that Esme was mocking him. He shut his eyes tightly. "Because, I have been through so much, nothing really affects me anymore," he said to him. His wrists were in more pain than it was probably meant because the cuts on them were starting to get irritated. "You should give up now, save yourself a lot of wasted effort."

"If you would let it effect you", Esme whispered gently against the slaves flesh, "then we could both save time...I wont give up on you" Slowly releasing the boy, he sat up and leaned down, just barely giving him an almost loving kiss, there was conviction in his soft voice as he spoke, his lips brushing against the other males in feather light touches.

"Too many obviously have already...", his hands braced on Jamie's chest as he leaned down, his arms fully extended and locked, but his head down far enough where he could kiss the boy, his legs still in place, his hands at an angle that could have been threatening if he chose it to be with his long fingernails.

Jamie was a bit surprised by what Esme was saying. "I won't give in," he said. He could tell that Esme was trying to take him in with gentleness, but he was not going to let it work. He shook his head. "Let me..." he was cut off when Esme's lips pressed against his own. He turned his head again. "Get off of me, jerk." He wanted to break as many rules as he could and he couldn't do that when he was pinned under Esme.

Esme pulled back, a glare suddenly in place. Slamming his hands down on either side of Jamie's face, he smirked cruelly as the chain of his cuffs strained across his face, going into the slaves mouth uncomfortably, like a bit to a horses mouth. It was painful, he knew that it was but he refused to relent, locking his hands with the boys and distributing his weight evenly between his hands and his legs.

He watched the boy gag on the chain.

"Suppress it!", he snapped, no longer smiling, no longer feeling the need to plead as he pushed his hands down harder, forcing the chain further into the boys mouth. "Gag and I will have you tortured and shot dead", he growled, his eyes dark and angry, showing that he was serious in his threat. He wasn't going to play games with this boy anymore.

Jamie was a bit surprised when the chain went into his mouth. It was painful. He heard what the man said. Maybe he should just gag on the chain, just to get out of this. He said he would be tortured than shot to death. So he would die instead of continuing to wish he was dead. He shut his eyes tightly and tried to push against Esme's hands, trying to get it to where the chain wasn't in his mouth. He didn't gag though. He barely had a gag reflex. It took quite a lot to get him to gag.

"Say you're mine!", Esme growled, pushing most of his weight onto the boys knees so that it was rather painful. He knew that he was doing this only because he was angry at the boy, he knew that he would probably come to regret it later but at the moment he didn't care. At the moment all he cared about was hearing those words, and he would, he knew he would, he would hurt the boy until he heard them. This boy was going to learn his place.

"Say it!" He watched the boy struggle beneath him, he wanted to hear it, to hear that voice and those lips say that they belonged to him. Part of him feared that he would want to hear it over and over once he heard it a first time.

"Say it, or you lose what little chance you have at freedom one day..."

Jamie struggled against Esme. This was getting rather painful. He struggled. He refused to say that he was Esme's. He didn't want to say it and he wasn't going to. He could let the pain get bad enough if he wanted and then he would just pass out. He continued to struggle, trying to get free. He had heard the last comment, but he didn't care. He would escape here if he had to. He would be free one day and nothing was going to stop him.

"I could give you freedom", Esme whispered, "true freedom" He watched as the boy stuttered in his struggling for a second and his voice rose ever so slightly in volume.

"Say it", he held his place firmly, his whole body not moving as he stayed where he was.

"Say it and mean it...", his voice was commanding, but not as cruel anymore.

Jamie looked at Esme. He heard what he said and he shut his eyes. He could deal with this. He thought for a moment. "Nevah," he said, what he said was muffled. He struggled against Esme. He glared at Esme, not wanting to say it.

Esme leaned down so that he was just barely above the boy, keeping his eyes locked on Jamie's.

"Say it and mean it", he repeated in the same tone, wanting to hear those words. He needed to hear those words, this boy interested him and he needed to know that it wasn't going to be a fruitless endeavor. He had already gotten him to scream, but Jamie needed to be more willing to obey him before he would give him the pleasure of freedoms like wandering the grounds. Though when he did eventually get there, Esme would have the electric fence turned on, it rarely was, only during times like that.

Jamie blinked a couple of times. He wasn't going to say it. He refused to. He was not Esme's and even if he said it, he wouldn't mean it. He struggled again. He was too stubborn. He did not want to say it. He didn't care if Esme killed him. He wanted to die. If he was going to be owned by someone, he wanted to die.

Esme leaned low over the boy, holding his hands in place, keeping the chain where it was at.

"Say it", he whispered, his mouth barely separate from Jamie's, his lips brushing the slaves as he spoke to him. "I won't repeat myself again...", he whispered, inwardly losing his patients, but refusing to show it.

"Say it or you will get far worse than you did last night...", he crooned, "I will include more sensitive areas of your body than your back this time", he wanted to hear those words.

Jamie heard what Esme said and he shifted his gaze so that he wasn't looking at Esme anymore. He didn't say anything. He struggled against Esme again, only hurting himself, but not really caring. He was not going to lie about that. He would never say something that he didn't mean.

Esme looked at the boy silently for a moment before leaning over and reaching for his cane and his tie, getting up when he had them. Snaking his hands from the cuffs, he thanked god for his thin wrists and tossed the metal contraption away. The tie wrapped complexly around both wrists, tighter than the hand cuffs had been and he dragged him without remorse to the balcony doors. Tying the tie on the overhanging railing, Esme pulled until the boy was stretched to his tip toes and stood there, his cane in one hand, the tie wrapped around the other, ready to pull at any time.

"Say it"

Jamie was glad to have the chain out of his mouth. He was a bit off guard though, which was why Esme so easily got the tie around his wrists. He did struggle when he was dragged to the balcony doors. He was off balance this way and he couldn't get his hands free. He had never had his wrists tied like this before. He was usually cuffed, not tied. He was trying to keep his balance in this position. He heard the command. He remained silent. He would not say something that was a lie.

The cane came down with a harsh crack against the boy’s right thigh, just above his knee and Esme watched without sympathy as Jamie recoiled and tried to pull away.

"Say it", he snapped again, his eyes narrowing, "and mean it" The last part of the sentence was punctuated by another hard crack to the boys thigh just under his buttock

Jamie felt the cane hit his thigh. There was a cracking sound that went with it. He did recoil, but it was clear that he wasn't going anywhere. He shut his eyes and took the hits. He heard what he said and thought for a moment. "I could say it, but I could never mean it," he said to Esme. He would have to give in sooner or later because his body still wasn't healed from yesterday.

"You will say it and you will mean it!", Esme demanded, bringing the cane down with a heavy crack on the boys belly button. He loved the way this boy shivered when he hit him. Nothing would've pleased him more than to hear the boy say that, he might have even given him a reward if he did it. Somehow he doubted that he would be in the mood to give the boy a reward for saying it by the time he did though..

Jamie got the wind knocked out of him with that hit. He coughed slightly. He shook his head. "Sorry, not possible," he said, while gasping. Getting knocked off of balance like this was not helping either because he couldn't brace himself for the hits.

"Yes it is", Esme growled, jabbing the boy painfully with the end of his cane in the middle of his chest.

"It is only impossible for you because you don't want it to be possible. But you're not looking at the advantages of being in my care." Jabbing the boy again, he started circling him, "you will always be taken care of. You will have a home. You will have someone who would kill if anyone touched you" He was counting them off on his fingers, "and...you would be loved...more so than anyone else could..." He stopped in front of Jamie now, watching him quietly, it was true, masters often came to love their slaves as sort of pets, often taking very good care of them.

Jamie was gasping for air. He tried his best to keep his eyes on Esme. He did not like having someone like him out of his sight. He panted softly and looked at Esme. "Maybe that's so, but you did say that you wanted a challenge and you got one," he said stubbornly. He tried to kick Esme, not sure if he would be able to because of the position he was in.

Esme easily side stepped the halfhearted kick and cracked his cane down on the boys kneecap though not nearly as hard as he had been hitting him before. A smirk crossed his lips and he paced so that he was behind the boy.

"But don't you see?", he asked in a soft, coy voice, "you just subconsciously admitted that you will be mine", he kissed the boys ear gently, a devilish smirk on his lips as he then stepped away from the slave.

Jamie winced slightly when his knee was hit with the cane. He didn't like Esme being behind him. He heard what he said. "What are you talking about? I did not," he said. "I don't see how you could have gotten that when I just tried to kick you."

Esme smirked reaching with the length of his arm to gently run his fingers down Jamie's back.

"You just said 'Maybe that's so, but you did say that you wanted a challenge and you got one' That implies that one will face and over come this challenge", he said lightly before hooking his cane under the boys chin and forcing him to turn as far as he could to look at him.

"Now try saying it out right", he crooned, "tell me who your owner and master is~!" The immortal's eyes were cold as he watched Jamie's turned face, that was what he wanted to hear the most from this boy and if that meant there would be a long breaking process, Esme would relish every sensation from the experience.

Jamie heard what Esme said and he had to admit that it seemed that way. He heard the question and he shift his eyes so that he wouldn't be looking at Esme. "Let me go," he said plainly. "I will never be yours."

Esme gave a cruel smirk before he drew back his cane and pulled the head of the cane away from rest of it, surprisingly the head of the cane unscrewed to reveal a knife. Pressing the blade to the boy’s bare shoulder blade, he watched as it threatened to bite into Jamie's soft flesh.

"Say it"

Jamie looked down. He felt the blade at his shoulder. He shut his eyes and shook his head. "No," he said to Esme. "I won't say it." He moved his wrists slightly.

"Very well", Esme advanced forward and the knife bit into the tender flesh of Jamie's shoulder blade. The immortal laughed at the blood that was produced, he laughed at the grimace and yelp of pain that he waited for to come. He dragged the knife down, cutting a shallow line into the boys flesh, just barely enough to bleed, enough to hurt, but not enough to be fatal in any way.

Jamie felt the knife cut into him. He did grimace, but he didn't let out any yelp of pain. This felt so weird. He knew that his body wouldn't be able to hold out if Esme continued to cut him.

The knife dragged further down and Esme smiled as it bit painfully across one of the wounds from the previous night.

"I want you", he said softly to Jamie, "I want to possess you, I need to dominate you...and only you will do" Dropping the knife he took a step towards the boy, kissing the mark he made.

"Submit to me", he crooned, almost pleadingly.

Jamie did let out a soft cry when the knife ran across the older wound. He was shaking, his body nearly at it's limit. He heard the words and he shook his head. Great, his vision was getting blurred. His body couldn't take anymore. "Never," he said softly. It was clear that more punishment would be bad for him, but Jamie was too stubborn. Last night had been a different story. All this man had wanted was for him to scream, but now he wanted him to submit. Jamie was too stubborn to do that.

"Then I am sorry", pulling back Esme reached for the bottom half of his cane, calmly screwed the head back in its place and came to stand in front of Jamie. Part of him didn't want to do it, but the other half knew that if he didn't make Jamie submit he would never make a decent slave of any kind. Esme was prideful, he wouldn't return the boy, his only choice was to break him, and he had to and would break him. At all costs.

Rearing back, he cracked his cane down against various places on the boy’s abdomen, to cause pain, to cause fear, to instill the boy to obey.

"Say it!", he ordered, watching as Jamie flailed, "say it!".

Jamie heard what Esme. He was not sure why the man was apologizing. He was in pain and on the verge of passing out. He struggled against his bonds. "No!" he shouted, trying to call all his strength to get free, but he couldn't.

Esme took out the knife again, putting it to the fading boy’s throat.

"Say it", he ordered, pressing against the boy, looming over him, "say it and mean it" He knew Jamie would refuse, but he didn't care, he would persist until he got his way.

Jamie looked at Esme. He laughed slightly. "No," he said. He couldn't tell such a flat out lie. He was more or less forcing himself to stay awake now. If he passed out with that knife to his throat, he would probably get hurt. "What? Do you kill what you can't control?" he asked softly.

"No", Esme said softly, "I learn to control it" Leaning close to the boy, the immortal's mouth was barely separate from Jamie's.

"Say you're mine...", he whispered, "that's all I want for now, that's all I need for now...", he dipped his head and nuzzled up the boys neck, whispering so that the boy could hear him.

"I have other ways of getting what I want from you...I will implicate them if I have to..."

Jamie heard what he said. He shook his head slightly. "No, I won't," he said softly. He struggled slightly. He couldn't stay awake any longer. He shut his eyes and soon he was out. He had passed out, his body exhausted from the punishments that he had received that past few days.

Esme smiled gently at the boy as he hung there, asleep, the exhaustion had finally gotten to him. Gently untying the slave, the immortal carried him to the bed that was within Esme's bedroom and lay him down. Ever so gently he pulled a blanket up over the boy and crawled into the bed beside him. Soon they were both asleep.