Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Breaking Point ❯ Day 3 ( Chapter 3 )

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

Jamie didn't know how long he was out. All he knew was that when he woke up, the sun was shining through the door that lead out to the terrace. He wondered where he was. What had happened was really a blur to him. He slowly sat up in the bed, but kept hold of the covers as he did so. His breathing was almost back to normal. He had a slight headache and he put a hand to his forehead.

Esme was still asleep in the chair, curled up in what one might have thought was an uncomfortable position. His head was half on the arm of the chair, half dangling off the side of the chair as he lay curled up under a massive throw. The only thing you could really see was the back of the chair, part of the arm and his head. He looked beautiful when he was asleep, so relaxed, just like he had yesterday morning.

Jamie looked around and spotted Esme. He pushed some of the covers off of his body, keeping one that he wrapped around his body. He slowly got out of bed. He didn't realize how weak his body was until he stood up. His legs gave out on him and he fell to the floor. "Ow," he said softly.

Esme stirred at the noise, slowly waking up. When he sat up his body let out a series of foreboding cracks and he groaned a little before stretching.

"What are you doing out of bed?", he asked curiously.

Jamie heard the question. "I have to go to the bathroom," he said softly. It was true and he was also hungry, but he didn't say anything about that. He panted softly. He couldn't believe how weak he was right now.

Getting up, Esme paced over to the boy and picked him up. Hooking his arms under the boy’s arms, he pulled him to standing.

"You're going to have to try to walk ok?", he set off towards the bathroom.

Jamie felt Esme pick him up. He heard what he said and he tried to stay on his feet. He did his best and forced himself to walk, still holding the blanket around his body. He was still slightly cold.

Taking the boy to the rest room, he gently placed the boy down.

"I apologize for last night, I assumed that you wouldn't obey me", he wasn't looking at him. He had turned his back and was facing the door.

Jamie heard what Esme said to him. He shut his eyes after he used the rest room. He thought for a moment. "If it hadn't rained, I probably wouldn't have," he said to Esme. He made sure to wash his hands before pulling the blanket back around him.

Esme turned to look at the boy now, that sentence hadn't made a lick of sense. Perhaps the hypothermia had messed with the boy’s brain. No he doubted it..they probably just weren't talking about the same instance. He was talking about the boy staying out on the terrace in the chair when he had told him to. Jamie was probably thinking about when Esme had opened his arms and told him to come to him.

Jamie had...listened to him...

Turning back to the boy he eyed him slightly

"Why don't you like me?", he asked suddenly; the punishment had been Jamie's own fault.

Jamie didn't look at Esme. He didn't like anyone that bought others and tried them like they were less. Plus, he didn't trust anyone. He had been betrayed more than once, his first master betraying his trust and everything. "I don't like anyone who thinks that owning another is okay," he said to him.

Esme watched the slave, his eyes betraying no emotion as he inspected the hypothermic being.

"Would you rather still be there? Would you rather sleep in a cage instead of a bed? Would you rather die of hypothermia instead of recover from it?"

Jamie looked to the side. "Yes, actually I would prefer not having a master at all. Right now, I prefer death over life," he said softly. He was a strange boy indeed.

"Well I'm sorry, but I am not inclined to take you back", Esme said lowly, "I will break you...and in the end, you will like it...", then he turned and left the bathroom, deserting him there.

Jamie heard what Esme said. He still believed, after all this time that he was going to be able to break Jamie. The only problem with that was, Jamie now knew that Esme was falling for him. He had stored the information away for later use. He was a little surprised that he was being left alone. Oh well, he didn't care.

Esme found himself pacing around the room, this was becoming difficult, but he had to keep this up! Sitting down against the door of the bathroom, he listened for any sound. Jamie could probably hear him, he probably knew that he was there. This had never happened before, he had never had a problem with his feelings for subordinates or his possessions, so why was this happening now?

Jamie couldn't believe how bad his headache was. He ran the water in the sink and splashed some water on his face. He knew that Esme was at the door, but he didn't know why he was there. He started to cough a bit roughly a little bit after he had turned off the water. "Damn it," he said softly.

Esme listened to the slave cough, he wondered what was wrong. His ears strained to hear if the boy would fall. He hoped not, he had a feeling that if he called the doctor more than once today, he would get suspicious as to why the boy was so sick. Looking up to the doorknob, he briefly toyed with the thought of going back into the bathroom, just to keep an eye on Jamie.

Jamie didn't fall down. He soon walked to the bathroom door and he opened it. He saw Esme that. "Making sure I don't try to escape?" he asked, looking at the man.

Esme didn't look up at him.

"I don't care if you try to escape...", he said lowly, "because you obviously can't" His voice was cold, so much colder than it had been, he was angry and it was obvious. When he got angry he wanted to punish that which made him angry; he knew that Jamie knew this.

Jamie heard what he said. He continued to hold the blanket around his body. "Are you going to punish me once more?" he asked, walking past Esme. Esme probably didn't care if he was sick.

Esme stood and glared.

"Why would I bother?", he snapped, "I don't want to kill you..." Turning he headed to the door of the room.

"You could use a hot bath, come along..."

Jamie watched Esme. That was different. He thought for a moment and then followed. "Can I get some clothes? I don't exactly want to be walking around with just a blanket," he said to him.

Esme rolled his eyes impatiently then leaned against the door, watching the boy.

"Well you've raided my closet before, I suppose it wont hurt to let you do it again...", he said softly, "go on..." The boy watched his slave silently, waiting for him to dress, obviously having no intent on giving him privacy.

Jamie looked at Esme for a moment. He saw that he wasn't going to give him any privacy. He sighed softly as he looked at the clothes. He wondered what he should wear. Something that fit him of course. He thought for a moment and grabbed a normal button up white t-shirt and some blue jeans. Some of the things in the closet were foreign made, but they didn't catch his interest right now. He let the blanket fall and he got dressed, not looking at Esme as he did so.

Esme's eyes traveled up the slaves legs and back, his face showing no emotion. Once the boy was dressed, the master watched him before fully standing again and turning to grasp the doorknob.

"Come along, you need a bath...", he looked away then and opened the door, "and so do I..." He knew the boy wouldn't be happy about having to bathe with the man that expected him to call him 'Master', but right now he didn't care and just kept walking.

Jamie looked at Esme. "What?! I'm not taking a bath with you," he said, protesting against such a thing. Why would he bathe with a man that he despised?

Esme turned to give Jamie the coldest glare that he ever had, it was one that gave the boy visible shivers.

"You will", he growled before turning to grab the boys wrist and pulling him close, "so come!" Then he turned and pulled the boy along, pulling him down the stairs with him.

Jamie was a bit surprised at the cold glare. He was a little too surprised because if he hadn't been, he wouldn't have let Esme grab his wrist. He tried to pull his wrist free, but Esme's grip was too tight and strong. Since Jamie was sick, he was not at his strongest. "Let go of me!" he said.

Swinging the boy forward with surprising strength, Esme slammed the boy stiffly against the wall, not painfully, but not comfortably either.

"I am not a pervert, nor am I going to hurt you", he said softly, "I just want to see that your hypothermia doesn't get worse, a hot bath will make you feel better" Then he started walking again, his grip on the boy still strong, but he wasn't dragging him, he was more walking with him.

"As for me, I am in need of a bath and I see no reason to fill my bathtub more than once when it is the size that it is; I believe you saw it on your first day here, I made you bathe then too."

Jamie let out a gasp when he was swung into the wall. He heard what he said. "I still don't see why we have to bathe together," he said softly. He couldn't believe that he was now being forced to take a bath with the man he hated. He couldn't get his wrist out of the man's grip though so he couldn't do anything, but follow the man. Even if he tried, the man would find a way to make him go with him.

"I just explained it to you, are you stupid?", Esme snapped, not looking back. His feet padded lightly on the smooth marble floor as they stepped from the stairs to the ground floor. Then he led Jamie to the same door that he had taken the slave through the first night. Down a flight of stairs and into the oasis that was the lavish bathroom.

Jamie wasn't stupid. He knew why he just didn't see why they had to bathe together. He could use the same water as Esme. They didn't have to bathe at the same time. He looked to the side, wondering what he was going to do. He couldn't really fight without opening old wounds or with his condition though. This really sucked.

"You can use the south end of the bath, I will be in the north end...", he said lightly before leaving for the north dressing rooms. Stepping into the dressing rooms, he stripped off his clothes, tossing them into a laundry chute and grabbing a white robe and slipping it on. Ruffling his longish hair just to get some air into it before he headed out, he reached for the knob on the door but stood there for a moment.

Jamie was glad when Esme let him go. He left, going to the south end. That stupid jerk. He hated it here. He would rather be back in his old prison. He took off his clothes and folded them neatly. He grabbed a robe and slipped it on. He had never been with a new master for so long. It was usually one day or less. When was this guy going to give up? He needed to calm down. He couldn't let his emotions overwhelm him, not now. He left the dressing room and went to the bath, where he discard the robe and got in on the south end. He sat in the warm water, keeping just his head above water.

Esme shook his head after a moment and opened the door of the dressing room and heading to the edge of the bath. He smiled gently as he lowered himself to the floor, and sat, his feet dangling down into the water. Slipping the robe from his shoulders, Esme pulled the robe away and lay it across a nearby bench, one that was obviously used during swimming. Then he slid into the hot water, dunking under before resurfacing and pushing his hair out of his eyes.

Jamie sighed as he started to clean his body. Then he saw Esme and when he saw him without the robe, he blushed slightly. Esme had a very beautiful body. He blinked a couple of times and then looked away. He couldn't believe he was even thinking about that. He went under the water, to hide the blush on his face and held his breathe as he stayed under the water. He just hoped that Esme didn't think that he passed out and was drowning or something like that.

A moment later a hand reached under the water and dragged the boy to the surface. Esme stood there looking worried as he held the boy up.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?!", he demanded, "I have a strict, 'no killing yourself in the bath' rule!", he was being slightly sardonic.

Jamie felt the hand pull him to the surface. He took a breath and coughed a little. "Let go, I wasn't trying to kill myself. I can hold my breath for a long time," he said. He tried to get away from Esme now. Now there would be no questions asked about why his face was red.

Esme watched the boy silently as he released him, was he really that bad of a master that the boy wanted to die?

"What kind of person are you?", he asked softly before turning and wading back to his side of the bath and hiking himself up onto the sitting shelf again. Leaning back he stretched and tried to relax as he kept an eye on the boy, maybe it was time to give Jamie a little space? But it made him too nervous to just leave him alone like that, he really didn't want to lose the boy.

Jamie was now sitting in the far corner of the bath. Yes, Jamie wanted to die, but he had his reasons. He couldn't bring an end to his own life, so he tried to get other people to, but that never worked out because his reflexes would kick in and he wouldn't allow himself to be killed either. He stayed in the corner of the bath, thinking about a lot of things, the day his parents had sold him into slavery was a big memory that always came to haunt him. Soon enough, he had to get out because his wounds were starting to sting him. He got out of the bath and grabbed the robe. He put it on and then went to get the clothes he had had before.

Esme sat on the ledge for a long time even after Jamie got out. Why was this boy so angry all the time? Where did it originate from?, he decided to find out. Getting up, he paced over a bridge to the other side of the bath and grabbed his robe before heading to the south dressing rooms. He was glad the doors had no locks at times like these. Slipping inside, he met eyes with a half dressed Jamie. his hands flew over his mouth.

"Oh! I'm-I'm sorry!", he turned to face the door, but- why was he apologizing? He had seen the boy in less, he had seen the boy naked, so why was he apologizing for seeing the boy only half naked?

Jamie heard the door open. He was just about to put his shirt on. He already had his pants on. He heard Esme apologize and the looked at the man. It wasn't like he was a girl. There was really nothing to see. He slipped his shirt on silently and he looked at Esme. "And why do I get the pleasure of seeing you in here?" he asked, looking at Esme's back. He was being sarcastic and right now, he didn't really care about being punished later for it.

Esme didn't answer, instead he dodged the question.

"Why are you so bitter?", he asked, "I want to know..." He turned to look at the boy then, his eyes meeting Jamie's in a silent stare.

"And don't tell me you're not..."

Jamie heard the question and he was a bit surprised that Esme was asking it. "None of your business," he responded. Since he didn't want to hear him say that he wasn't bitter, he would just tell him that it was none of his business why he was the way he was.

Esme glared at him briefly, he knew that he was being disobedient if only because Esme didn't dare to hurt him at the moment. His glare faded.

"I just want to help", he said softly, "who hurt you so badly?", he asked. His voice was gentle, genuinely concerned, more like a friend than a master, more like a true question as opposed to an order.

Jamie was a bit surprised. He even laughed. "What makes you think someone hurt me?" he asked, looking at Esme. Why was this man acting so strange, like his first master had acted from the very beginning, to gain Jamie trust and then attack him... It was his parents giving him to slavery that had hurt him the most and then the betrayal of someone else he thought he could trust. Those two mixed together had turned quite a sweet boy into a bitter and defiant one.

Esme was silent as he watched the boy, it was clear that Jamie was reluctant to talk to him. But maybe-

"Do you know why anything you ever do will not kill me?", he asked curiously, watching as Jamie shook his head, Esme smiled.

"It's because my mother was an angel", he said softly, "did you know that there is only one way to kill an angel?", again Jamie shook his head. Esme nodded, "it's true, the only way to kill an angel is to break it's heart..." The immortal looked at his hand silently, "it makes me wonder sometimes...why did my mother leave heaven for this hell hole?" Esme's arms came up to wrap around himself in a delicate act of vulnerability, one that few had ever seen him do.

"Why would she leave a perfect world for one like this...?", he looked away from Jamie now, not looking at him as he spoke anymore, "then I realize, it's because she was fascinated by the frailty of humans. You think yourselves not to be weak but really you are...and when I realize that I want to save you even when I know that there is no way for someone like me to save anyone...", he gave a cold laugh, like he was laughing at himself.

"I am...just as mortal as you are in a way..."

Jamie listened carefully. This was surely an act. He couldn't let himself be tricked again. He laughed a little. "You really think that telling me this will change what I said. It's none of your business so I don't have to tell you a thing about why I am the way that I am," he said coldly. He was not going to fall for the same thing twice.

Esme didn't think twice about slapping the boy, he just did. His hand came sharply across the boys face, making him bite his tongue.

"I didn't tell you that so you would tell me", he said softly, "I told you because I thought maybe someone like you would understand", turning he left pulled the door open, "but I guess not" His voice sounded genuinely hurt as he left the room, stomping to the north changing rooms and slamming into them before sitting down on the cold tile floor. He wasn't going to cry, he wasn't going to cry, he wasn't going to cry, he wasn't going to- A tear dripped from Esme's chin to his hand and he broke, burying his head into his knees.

Jamie could taste blood. He had bitten into his tongue when Esme slapped him, bitten a little too hard. He watched him leave and he waited a few moments before spitting out blood. Then he followed. He sneaked to the north dressing room and he slowly and quietly opened the door. He was surprised to see Esme crying. Had Jamie broken the man? Was this what it felt like when you break someone? Jamie felt.. horrible. He had spoken too quickly and not thought about the consequences. He entered the dressing room and shut the door behind him.

"Esme, I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I laughed and I'm sorry that I said that to you. I don't really understand, you're right, but I don't understand a lot of things... I am just stupid I guess," he said softly. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings this time. I thought, I thought that you were trying to feed me a lie to get me to trust you."

Esme didn't speak, he refused to look at the boy.

"Just leave", Esme croaked, wiping his face on the back of his hand. It really wasn't that what Jamie had said that had hurt the man, it was more the fact that- for so long Esme had refused to think about his parent's deaths. He had locked himself in his parents’ room for so long, refusing to sleep under the covers and sufficing with his own thin blanket.

Jamie looked at Esme when he spoke. He hadn't listened to orders thus far and he didn't leave. He just stood there, not sure what to say. He wondered if there was something he could do to make the other male feel better.

"Last night...", Esme said finally, "last night was the first night that anyone besides my parents have slept under the covers of the bed in my room" His voice was soft, looking up he watched as Jamie sat himself beside him. He wanted to touch the boy, to reach out and make sure that he wasn't hallucinating.

Jamie did in fact walk over and sit by Esme. He sat there, listening to what Esme said, but he was still cautious. He couldn't believe that he was actually doing this. He was kind of surprised that he wasn't hand shy after all the beatings that he had taken.

Esme watched him silently before reaching out and running his fingers over the boys cheek, tracing the soft flesh gently.

"I'm sorry", he croaked, his throat was constricting as though it didn't want him to say those words. Then he pulled his hand away and turned halfway to look at the wall across from them.

"You still smell", he said lightly, "come on, lets wash your hair...", he stood and extended his hand to the boy.

Jamie felt Esme touch him. He heard what he said. What a way to ruin the moment. He sighed softly. "Fine," he said softly. He took Esme's hand and went with him to go wash his hair.

Leading the boy out into the bathing room again, Esme sat down where he had before and slid the robe off before he slid into the hot water. Wading across the bath, he moved to a porcelain cupboard that had been built into the floor beside the bath and dug out an array of shampoos and conditioners before closing the cupboard and turning back to Jamie who was still standing where he had left him.

"Come on...", he said softly

Jamie followed Esme and he heard what he said. He looked at him and he thought for a moment. He started to get undressed again before he got into the bath.

Esme waited patiently on his side of the bath, not watching the boy, but listening, just in case he tried to run.

"You can have your choice of shampoos and conditioners, if there is nothing you like I can have one of the servants bring you any you would like" He looked up now, his eyes locking on the slave.

Jamie looked at the assortment of shampoos and conditioners. He thought for a moment. He grabbed some strawberry scented ones. He liked the smell of strawberries a lot. He looked at it for a moment. He then looked at Esme. "I like these ones," he said.

Esme smiled and placed himself on a shelf nearby, where he had been sitting before and motioned for Jamie to follow him. He sat there, his legs crossed effeminately as he watched the boy.

"Come then", he said sweetly.

Jamie looked at Esme for a moment. He hesitated for some time before he moved over to where Esme was. He was still being cautious. Right now, he just wanted to make the man feel better. This didn't change anything, he hoped.

Esme waited patiently, taking the bottle from the boy, he placed it on the ledge beside him before bringing some water up with his hands to wet what little bit of the boys hair was no longer wet. Then he squirted some of the sweet smelling goo into his hand and rubbed his hands together before gently rubbing it into a thick lather in the Jamie's hair. It was an almost therapeutic action for the both of them as he did this, Esme was relaxing ever so slightly, as it seemed that Jamie was doing the same.

Jamie remembered his first master doing the same thing. The boy had so many scars that it was hard to tell what was old and what was new. The oldest ones and the most severe had been caused by that man. The wounds that Esme had inflicted were nothing close to what he had had to endure with the first man. He shut his eyes so that none of the sweet smelling goo would get into his eyes. He wasn't completely relaxed, but he was relaxed enough for Esme to notice.

Esme smiled lightly as his fingers worked, thoroughly cleaning the boy’s hair down to the roots. Pulling away after a couple moments of scrubbing, he smiled at Jamie effeminately.

"You can rinse the shampoo out now", he said gently, reaching for the conditioner, stretching his body a bit over the porcelain floor to grab it.

Jamie heard what Esme said. He moved a little out into the water and went under long enough to get all the shampoo out of his hair, much more a blond color now than the dirty blond it was before. He wiped some water off of his face and then went back over to Esme.

Esme was coming back from craning when Jamie sat down where he had been sitting.

"Your hair is much cleaner", he said gently, squirting some of the sweet smelling conditioner into his hand and gently working it into the boy’s hair.

"Now we give it a couple moments", he said gently, moving up to sit on the ledge, giving Jamie a little bit of space, sadly his foot slipped and he fell, hitting his head on the ledge that he had meant to sit on.

Jamie felt a bit of water splash onto his back when Esme fell. He also heard the thud that accompanied it. He turned around and looked at Esme for a moment. He blinked a couple of times and put a hand on the man's shoulder. "Are you all right?" he asked, thinking that Esme was being clumsy right now.

Esme smiled up at his slave before rubbing his head.

"I'm alright", he said gently, bringing his hand back down. But he wasn't all right as the blood on his fingers stated. The master didn't seem to notice as he pushed himself into a more sitting position.

Jamie saw the blood on Esme's hand. He got the conditioner out of his hair and then went over to Esme. "You do realize that you are bleeding, right?" he asked, looking at the man.

Esme looked confused for a moment before he reached back and touched the spot that had hit the porcelain. It was tender and he grimaced before bringing it back to see blood on his fingers. Getting up, the man pushed himself up out of the bath and headed towards a large cabinet in the corner with medical supplies in it. He was getting dizzy and he was stumbling, half way there he had to catch himself on a bench as he fell to the floor.

Jamie got out of the bath not too long after and grabbed a towel. He wrapped it around his body and then walked over to where Esme was heading. He didn't like seeing blood, especially when it came from other people. "What do you need from here?" he asked.

Esme watched the boy with blurry eyes, why on earth was he helping him?

"Antiseptic and bandages", he said lightly, forcing himself to sit on the bench that he had caught himself on. His head officially hurt now, and he could feel the sickening warmth of the blood dripping down his skull.

"They should be on the top shelf", he called, rubbing his head, trying to get the pain to go away.

Jamie looked in the cabinet and he found what he was looking for. Then he went over to Esme and started to apply everything. When he was done, Esme was bandaged up. It was a perfect job done, the wound covered by bandages.

Without really thinking about it, Esme leaned back against Jamie waiting for his head to clear. He was tired, why was he so tired?

"You smell better", he said softly, his eyes drifting up to watch the boy through a mess of silver hair, "and your hair is a much nicer color when it is clean..."

Jamie was slowly letting his guard down now that Esme was lightheaded and injured. He heard what he said. "Thanks," he said, trying to be nice.

Esme smiled at the boy’s thanks and reached up to pet his hair.

"You're beautiful...", he whispered, the delirium getting to his head and making him say things that normally he would have kept a lid on. Rolling over, Esme got to his knees and then stood, walking a little straighter as the bandage had stopped the bleeding. Then he slipped his naked body back into the bath, resting on the shelf

Jamie looked at Esme. Why was he saying such things? He followed the other male back to the bath, but he only at to where his feet were in the water. He wasn't sure what to say. He started to dry his hair, not sure what else he should do.

Esme watched the slave silently, his head was fuzzy, he couldn't quite think straight. Ringing a bell, he waited for a butler to come in and asked him to fetch him some aspirin. The butler glanced at Jamie in slight detest before going to get what he had been asked for.

Jamie saw the look of detest that he was given by the butler. He didn't really care though. He continued to dry himself off. He got dressed and sat close to the bath, but not too close.

Finally Esme got out, taking the aspirin from the butler when he brought it and moving to get dressed, his bump on the head feeling much better though he was left with a headache. But the aspirin would take quick care of that, and he didn't let it bother him. Seemingly unphased by the act of being stared at by all those who were near to him when he was nude, Esme paced calmly around the rim of the bath and went to the bench where his robe was, a towel was waiting for him. Sitting with his back to Jamie, Esme started to dry his hair, his muscles flexing under pale flesh as he did.

Jamie glanced at Esme as he started to dry his hair. He blushed a little and then looked away. He wondered what he was going to do. His thought made him drop his guard completely though. This rarely ever happened.

Esme dropped the towel to the bench and ran his fingers through his hair. Despite the bandage, his fingers passed through the white strands with ease. He could feel the eyes on him, Jamie was watching him, or at least, he had been.

"I know you've never seen me naked before, but may I ask what you find so fascinating about the way I look?" There was a long scar that went from the lower middle part of Esme's spine to the bone of his hip.

Jamie turned his head with a humph sound. "I don't find anything fascinating about your body," he said, denying the fact that he found everything about it fascinating.

Esme shrugged and went back to what he was doing. Carefully drying the various parts of his body, his muscles moving and working intimately with one another as he did so. He really was a thin man, not overly so, but he was very lean and well proportioned. This was the first time, the first time since Esme had bought the boy that he had been even remotely naked around Jamie and surprisingly, he felt very comfortable this way.

"I have a question", he said suddenly, not turning to look at the boy, "what happened to your first master?", he asked softly.

Jamie was a little surprised by the question, but he came back. "I killed him," he said to Esme. "I killed him and when the police came and found that I was a slave, they sent me back to the trade. I don't think they ever found out that it was me that killed that man."

Esme said nothing, he simply sat there for a long moment before going back to what he was doing.

"Why did you kill him?", he asked curiously, stopping and sitting there, watching the boy over his shoulder, his back still turned. Did he really want to know? He turned away from the boy after a moment of silence, dropping his head tiredly, his shoulders arching up in a flattering way. It stretched out over muscle of his torso before the boy’s eyes and drew a whisper of a moan from the immortals lips, a moan just barely loud enough for Jamie to hear.

Jamie wondered if he should tell Esme what he wanted to know. He wondered if he should. "Sorry, that is information that I am not willing to give," he said to Esme. He was still not ready to tell. He heard Esme moan and it caught his attention. He shuttered a bit and then thought to himself that he did not just shutter. He quickly looked away, blushing wildly.

The immortal stood then, stretching his whole body before leaning down and grabbing the robe that was laying on the bench where he had been sitting. He didn't put it on, but turned and looked at Jamie across the bath.

"If you will wait here", he said gently, "I will go dress..."

Jamie watched Esme for a moment. "Whatever, I don't care," he said and got up. He walked to the stairs and he waited there. He could not be falling for this guy. He couldn't allow himself to fall in love or have intimacy with anyone he met. He could not let it happen.

Esme slid into the north dressing room, dropping the robe and the towel that he had been holding to the floor and heading for the clothes that one of the maids had brought down for him.

Pulling on the pair of slacks that had been laid out for him, he reached and slid into the button up shirt that was laid with it, leaving the jacket where it was. He didn't button the shirt all the way up, only to the last two buttons, leaving his throat and collarbone exposed handsomely. His socks were next and finally he slipped on his shoes and left the dressing room.

His heels clicked as he walked across the porcelain, running his fingers through his hair, he headed up the stairs and found Jamie, giving him a handsome smile.

Jamie looked away as he stood up. Why was he starting to feel this way? He couldn't let his guard down. He couldn't let this man change him. He made his way up the rest of the stairs and to the door. He was blushing again, but since his back was to Esme, the other male would not be able to see.

Esme was also glad that the boys back was to him because he was pouting. He had hoped that this even would have been more fruitful with information about the boys past, but all it had really gotten him was a clean slave, a bump on the head and the little fact that Jamie had killed his first master for some unknown reason.

Giving just a hint of a sigh, Esme veered off of their path and into the foyer, the place where Jamie's first beating had occurred only two nights ago. He was silent as he looked around the room, wondering in the back of his mind when the slave would notice that he was no longer behind him. The furniture was as it had always been, bright an vibrant, not a speck of the room hinted at the brutality that had gone on in here that first night.

Wait- was he-

He shook his head. No, he couldn't be- regretting?! Esme had never once regretted the way that he had treated a disobedient slave or servant. He had never once truly felt remorse over hitting them or causing them some form of harm. All of the mind games that he played on them when they were disobedient, all of the afflictions that he had put onto them, not once had he ever felt sorry. So-

Why was he now?

Sitting down on the couch he stared sightlessly into the empty spaces of the room, his mind seeming to recess into itself momentarily.

Jamie was clueless that he wasn't believe followed by Esme anymore, lost in his own thoughts. He moved through the house and out to the stable that he wasn't allowed to go in. This was when he realized that Esme wasn't following him, so he slipped into the stable, seemingly unnoticed. He decided to investigate it a bit more. He really wanted to know why he was forbidden to come here, if that was in fact true. Maybe it wasn't, maybe it had just been a ploy to get him there before.

There was nothing interesting in the stables except for a door way at the back that said private on it.

Esme shook his head when his brain snapped back to life, where was Jamie? Looking around, the immortal rang for a butler.

"Where did Jamie go?", he asked lightly.

"I believe the slave went to the stables...", Esme was immediately up and walking out.

Jamie looked at the doorway. It said private and he tilted his head and went to the door, his curiosity peeked. He put his hand on the knob and tried to open the door, to see if it was locked. He hoped that it wasn't locked. He wanted to see what was inside.

The door wasn't locked and it opened to reveal a small room with pictures on the walls. Shelves lined where the pictures didn't and housed various trophies and ribbons that read 'first place equestrian riding competition'. The pictures looked like they were of a much younger Esme, standing and smiling with two older people that were probably his parents.

Jamie looked around the room that he had entered. He looked at the pictures and the trophies. "These must be his parents," he said softly. He looked the ribbons and the trophies next. "So he rode horses too, competitive horse riding from the looks of it." He was speaking softly as if he didn't want to be heard.

Esme pushed the door to the barn open further silently and slipped into the cool space. Jamie was no where in sight, the stalls only housed horses, the closets only tools and utensils. Where was he? Then his eyes landed on the door to his old trophy room, it was open. Pacing silently to the door, he peered in to see Jamie, he stepped into the small room.

"What're you doing in here?", he asked softly.

Jamie heard Esme's voice. He thought for a moment before responding. "I wanted to see why I was forbidden in the stables," he said softly. He was probably going to be punished for disobeying once again.

Esme was silent as he watched the boy before sighing and stepping into the room, closing the door.

"I don't like to come in here", he said softly, "the stables are off limits because I don't want to explain myself.." He leaned against the door and watched Jamie silently, the soft light coming through the window accenting him beautifully.

"If you want to know something about me, I would prefer that you ask me out right..."

Jamie looked at Esme for a moment, thinking about what to say. "It's no fun that way," he said to Esme. "If I just ask about it, then there is no thrill. I can't go investigate." He blinked a couple of times. Then he turned his head, not wanting to look at the attractive man.

Esme smirked at the boy, taking a step towards him.

"There are other ways of getting thrills", he said lightly, taking a step towards the boy, his eyes focusing on him intensely.

"I might start thinking that you like pain if you do things just to get punished..."

Jamie looked at Esme and he backed up. "Back off," he said. He didn't actually think he would get caught, but it seemed that Jamie was always being watched. He also guessed that Esme was not going to back off.

Catching the boy’s arms tightly in his hands, Esme loomed over Jamie, a gentle smile on his face.

"What did you want to know about me?", he asked lightly, "who better to acquiesce your curiosities than me?" Esme was really trying very hard not to get carried away, but Jamie was just too lovely beneath him. His hand came up to pet Jamie's cheek running up through the boy’s soft hair before falling away.

Jamie felt what Esme was doing. He tried to pull out of Esme's grasp. He felt what the male was doing and he wondered what he should do. He was blushing. "I don't want to know anything about you!" he said. He tried to move away from Esme. "Leave me alone!" He was doing his best to deny this feeling he had.

"Then why are you turning so pink?", Esme teased, leaning closer to the boy. Was he taking this too fast? Pulling the boy against him, Esme smiled down at him, his hands burying into Jamie's hair.

Jamie heard the question. He tried his best to pull away from. He kicked Esme in the shin, or attempted to, hoping he would. He didn't answer the question. "Just let me go!" he said.

Esme backed off, backing up enough to press his back to the door of the room. He eyed the boy, his smile still in place but somehow it was a more vulnerable smile. Silence filled the room, it was an awkward silence, a heated silence, a stale silence. Esme's eyes never once left the boy, they watched him in an almost emotionless stupor. If there was one thing that Esme had learned to do, it was hide what he was really thinking.

Jamie watched Esme and he wondered what he was going to do. He saw Esme watching him and he sighed softly. He was just glad that Esme backed off, but now he had no way out of the room. He didn't know what Esme was thinking. "Let me out," he said to Esme. Jamie was still blushing and denying his feelings. He couldn't possibly love this guy.

"Why should I?", Esme asked curiously, watching Jamie like he hadn't a clue what he was talking about. He wanted to know how the boy would react to him, would he get mad? Or would he play the game like Esme did? Some how the immortal doubted that the slave would play back he just didn't seem the flirty type. But he was so damn adorable with that blush on his face that Esme just had to see if he would play with him.

Jamie looked at Esme and he glared at him. "I'll make you move if I have to," he said to him. He was not going to flirt with the man, that much was certain. He glared at him intensely.

Esme chuckled and crossed his arms.

"Go ahead and try to make me...", he teased sweetly, his eyes locking with the boys as he stood there not moving. He was going to win this fight if it was the last thing that he did. He wouldn't lose to Jamie, he was going to break him.

Jamie watched Esme. He really had to think carefully on how to approach this man. He knew that he was strong and fast. He didn't know what he would pull either. Jamie could pull the flirt card, but he wasn't going to do that. He ran at Esme, going for a punch to the gut.

Esme easily caught the boys hand and returned the blow, but his palm was open when he did. Obviously he didn't want to hurt the boy only prevent him from getting out.

"If that's all you have then you are never getting out of here", the immortal purred, a gentle smirk on his face.

Jamie looked at Esme after he was hit by the blow. Esme hadn't hurt him, but that just proved to Jamie that Esme had some kind of feeling for him. He used his other hand and tried to punch Esme in the face quickly. He wasn't at his best right now because he was still getting over the hypothermia.

Again Esme caught the blow and returned it open palmed, his hand smacked across Jamie's face.

"You're cute when you try so hard", he said with a smirk before pushing the boy against the wall firmly, his head dropping to purr into the boy's ear, "but you're trying for something futile". He wanted this boy to play with him, he wanted to make him into something much more than what he already was.

"When I break you", Esme started, biting his lip for a second before continuing, "when I break you, I wont be able to sell you, will I?"

Jamie let out a gasp when he was pinned to the wall. He didn't like the position he was in right now. He struggled against the hold. He tried to knee Esme in the crotch. He didn't want to talk to him. "Get away from me!" he shouted.

Esme smirked.

"Answer the question and you will be released", he said softly, "I will take you back to your room, unshackled and I will leave you alone for the rest of the night. Though I do believe that you will find that my bed is much softer than the cot that has been set up in your allotted room." The immortal held his position fast, nudging his knee between the boy’s thighs and robbing him of the ability to kick him in any sensitive area of his body.

Jamie was blushing from what Esme was doing. "No! I don't want to answer you! Just let me go! You're not going to break me!" he shouted. He glared at Esme, panting softly. Why was he so tired?

A smirk crossed the immortal's lips and a laugh erupted from his throat.

"There is one way to break everyone, one way to make everyone feel so helpless that they want to hold onto you", leaning down, Esme kissed the boys ear before his hands tightened their grip on the boys forearms.

"But I've never been one for rape...", he was doing this to scare the boy, anyone who really knew Esme-meaning no one alive today-knew that he could never hurt someone like that. But it paid to be good at lying sometimes.

Jamie heard what Esme said about rape. He blinked a couple of times.. He looked at Esme slightly. "I don't think you have it in you," he said to Esme stubbornly. "You could never rape me." He was not going to give in to such a threat.

"Oh really?", Esme asked curiously, sliding closer to the slave boy, "I don't look like I could ever beat someone half to death, but I did it to you. I don't look like I can be cruel, but I can be to you." The immortal ran his fingers down Jamie's thin throat, his eyes not betraying a hint of emotion as he spoke.

"What makes you think that I am incapable of raping you?", maybe he was pushing this a little too far, maybe he was pushing this a little too far, but he wanted to know where it was going.

Jamie shut his eyes and felt what Esme was doing. He opened his eyes and glared at him. "I don't care what you look like. All you are trying to do is to scare me into submission and I won't be that easily scared," he said to Esme.

Esme chuckled.

"But I can tell", he whispered, "you are getting scared", releasing the boy, he took a step away from Jamie and reached out for the boy to take his hand.

"Come along, let's go get something to eat, I'm sure you're hungry..."

Jamie was relieved when Esme released him. He saw what he was doing now. He hit his hand away from him. "Stop the nice act!" he said and then coughed. He still wasn't over the hypothermia.

Esme was ready to smack Jamie for slapping his hand away, but when the boy started coughing, he hesitated and instead grabbed the boy’s wrist tightly in his grasp. He said nothing, at least he knew that the boy didn't know which of his fronts was the real him; and if he was lucky, it would stay that way until he broke him. If he didn't, then this wouldn't end well at all.

Jamie felt Esme grab his wrist. After he stopped coughing, he attempted to pull his wrist free. "Let go of me!" he said. He was being very difficult now. After they had had that simple moment at the baths, he went back to his normal disobedience, telling himself that he couldn't break, he couldn't fall for this man's tricks.

Pulling the boy with him, Esme ignored the boys struggling, taking it for what it was, a way to piss him off. He wanted Jamie to stop fighting him, he wanted him to stop fighting his advances, but if that happened, would they really ever get to the place where they were supposed to be? When he cracked Jamie, he knew that it would be worth it, the boy would be solely devoted to him and him alone. But could he hold out that long with this feeling growing inside him? Yes, he would, he would punish the boy again soon, but not while he was sick or injured this badly.

Jamie tried to pull away, but he couldn't. He was still not feeling well. He coughed again. He was extremely tired. He panted softly as he was pulled along. He felt like he was going to fall over. He was able to keep his balance as he was pulled along though. He looked at Esme, trying to pull his wrist away again, but it didn't work.

Esme could feel Jamie's pulls getting less frequent and less powerful as they went along. By the time they reached the house, the boy was more doing it as a formality, than he was really trying to get away because he probably couldn't. Silently, the immortal led the slave to the dining room, ordering out every kind of food there was.

"Take your pick", he said to the boy sweetly, "if what you like is not here, then we will have it specially made just for you..."

Jamie looked at Esme and he wondered what he should do. He didn't know what he should do. He was supposed to pick what he wanted. He looked away, too tired to struggle right now.

"Well go on", the immortal encouraged, gently tugging on the boys hand to get him to step towards the table. There were foods of every kind spread out before them and Esme was just waiting for Jamie to pick what he liked from the array. He really wanted to make the boy happy, he wanted nothing more than to see him smile, if only just once. But would he be happy with just one smile? Would he be satisfied with just one smile? Or would he want more once he got that one smile from the boy?

Jamie looked at the food that was spread out on the table. He realized just how hungry he was now that he was looking at the food. He thought for a moment and sighed. He might as well eat something. He looked at the food, hoping that none of it was drugged. He looked at the soups that were out and he got some chicken noodle soup. It would help his hypothermia more than anything else, or he hoped it would.

Esme smiled as he watched Jamie take some soup, he was probably going on good faith right now, hoping beyond hope that none of the food was drugged. None of it was of course and to illustrate this fact, Esme took a small portion of everything that was spread out onto his own plate before sitting down beside the boy to his right and clearing his whole plate in a very slow, proper manner that spoke of his upbringing. He didn't expect such from Jamie, the boy would have to be taught eventually, but for now he was allowed to use the habits that he had been taught as a child.

"Enjoy", Esme said softly.

Jamie looked at the soup for a moment after he had watched Esme eat. He wondered if he should trust it. He slowly started to eat the food. He was actually eating in quite a proper manner, not one that would be expected by him. He sighed softly and tried to ignore the headache that he had.

A cool hand came to press to Jamie's forehead as Esme checked the boy for a temperature.

"Are you alright? You seem a bit warm", he said lightly, turning his full attention on Jamie for the moment. He wanted him to be okay, if that meant abandoning his escapade to break him for the moment, then he would.

Jamie looked at Esme for a moment. "I'm still sick, I guess," he said softly to Esme. He wondered what he was going to do. He thought for a moment before pushing Esme's hand away from him.

Esme took the rejection in stride, his face becoming expressionless before he got up and left the room, locking the door behind him so that Jamie couldn't leave. He supposed that he was acting like a child, but he really didn't care, the boy ticked him off a little when he rejected the small advances that he made. Sitting down across from the door, he ordered a glass of wine and watched to see what Jamie would do, would he try to open the door? Or would he not?

Jamie looked away from Esme as the man left. He did hear the door lock, but he finished his food and got up. He walked over to a window and stared outside. He sighed softly and wondered what he should do. He coughed slightly, which could be heard from outside of the room, and he fell to his knees. He felt so weak right now. He panted softly after a coughing fit and he shut his eyes. "Damn it," he said softly.

Esme sat there, taking a small sip of his wine as he listened for the boy. Jamie wasn't well, but he had no choice but to push him, he needed to teach him that he was his master, even if he was nice when he told the boy to do something, it was still an order, and the boy still had to do what he was told. Even so he listened desperately for the boy, he didn't want to hurt the boy, he didn't want the boy to die.

Jamie shut his eyes as he sat against the wall by the window. He panted softly and tried his best not to cough again. His throat was hurting so he didn't want to make it worse than it already was.

Esme suddenly got nervous, but he had no reason to be nervous, he had no reason to be so anxious, but he was. Taking another slow sip of his wine, he tried to calm down, he tried to tell himself that it was foolish, but he failed and getting up he headed to the doors, his hand reaching to grasp the knob before he stopped and listened.

Jamie slowly fell asleep against the wall. He was extremely tired. He didn't know what he should do. He needed some rest. He needed to get rid of this sickness.

Esme let go of the door knob, did he really want to go in? Was Jamie alright? If he went in, he risked looking like a soft idiot, but if he didn't go in he risked Jamie's life. Did he want to do that? His hand was quivering.

Jamie was sleeping against the wall under the window. This was probably not good for him at all, but he didn't care. Esme had gone, locking him inside. It didn't matter where he went to sleep. He needed the rest so he was going to get it.

To hell with it! He opened the door, terrified as to what he would find. But when he pushed the door in to see Jamie, his eyes met the form of a broken boy, asleep against the wall under the window. A smile came across his face, it amazed him how, even when the boy was battered and broken and sick, he still looked so beautiful.

Esme paced across the room, gently picking the boy up and cradling him against his chest before turning and leaving the room. He took the slave to his bedroom and lay him down on the bed, pulling the three blankets that he had put over the boy the night before. Then he leaned to kiss the boys forehead and sat on the floor beside the bed.

Jamie didn't wake as he was moved to the bed in Esme's room. He was not to wake for a few hours. When he did wake, he glanced around slightly. He wondered where he was. Then he realized where he was. He was in the room that Esme said was his parents or something like that. His headache wasn't as bad, but he still had a slight fever. He slowly sat up, moving some of his blond hair away from his face.

Esme looked up from the romance novel he was reading and glanced over his reading glasses at Jamie. He seemed to be judging him, calculating something in his head for a moment before looking back down at his book.

"You should be sleeping still", he said lightly, a smile cracking as he read a particularly nice bit of the page.

Jamie looked at Esme. "And why should I be?" he asked. "Did you drug me or something?" Otherwise, why would Esme say that? He shut his eyes and shook his head. Whatever, he didn't care right now.

Esme puts his bookmark in and closes the book, placing it on the table beside him before taking off his glasses. They too went on the table and the immortal crossed his legs and folded his hands.

"Because you're sick, you still have a fever and you wont get better without rest, so one would assume that you would still be sleeping."

Jamie glared at Esme. He looked to the side, not sure what to do. "I would sleep more if I could, but I can't," he said. He really couldn't. His dreams were filled with awful things from his past. He could never sleep too long because of that.

Esme watched him in silence before standing and taking a step towards the boy.

"Is there something that it inhibiting your ability to sleep?", he asked curiously, his eyes locking with Jamie's. Would the boy give him a truthful answer?

Jamie looked to the side. He wondered if he should answer. "Nightmares, night terrors, whatever you want to call them," he said softly to Esme, but he didn't look at him.

Esme took a step towards the boy, reaching just barely to touch his cheek.

"What do you have to be scared of here with me?", he asked gently. He didn't want the boy to fear sleeping in this place that was to become his home. If Jamie feared him, he didn't know what he would do; especially when the boy was becoming so important to him.

Jamie thought for a moment. "Bad memories. It has nothing to do with my environment," he said to Esme. He was scared of his memories. It would be stupid to someone who hadn't been there.

"What happened?", the immortal asked softly, "what could be so scary that it followed you this far?" Another step was taken and Esme's hand gently caressed the boy’s cheek.

"Jamie? Answer me...", it was a very gentle order; a very softly spoken order.

Jamie wondered if he should tell him. He sighed softly. "Being abandoned and being lead on and betrayed," he said. This would probably make no sense to Esme.

"Explain it to me", Esme said in the most gentle tone that anyone had ever heard. He stroked his hand down the boy’s cheek, to his throat, to his shoulder. Stepping closer he allowed his hand to continue down until it came to rest in the small of the boys back. The look on his face was a gentle one, and his eyes showed genuine compassion behind the slight curtain of hair that framed the immortal's face handsomely.

Jamie felt the hand continuing down. He wondered why Esme wanted to know. "My parents, they were the ones that put me into slavery. They sold me, abandoning me in such a horrid place," he said and shut his eyes. "My first master, the one that I killed, he took me in. I was scared, I was weak. I was nothing like I am today. He acted all nice, gaining my trust and then he turned on me. He tried to use my body for his own pleasure. I don't remember much after that. I know that by the time I realized what was going on, my hands were covered in blood and that man was dead. He betrayed me, my parents betrayed and abandoned me." He didn't seem to be upset at all about this, but he was.

Esme's other hand came up to cup the boys cheek as he looked down then back up in an empathetical way. He would never do such a thing, but Jamie didn't know that; to Jamie he was just another master. Just like the first one, just like all of them. All those who had grown tired of the boy, or got sick of dealing with him. All of them had taken a little piece of the boy with them, and now Esme was holding the broken, incomplete form that they had discarded in his arms.

He wanted to tell Jamie that it would be alright, that he was safe now, but there was no guarantee that the boy would believe him. How could he after all he had been put through?

"Am I like him?", he forced his voice to stay even though he could feel it threatening to crack.

Jamie thought for a moment. He didn't know if Esme was the same. "I don't know," he said softly. "Until you actually betray me, I won't know." He was more or less tired again. It was probably because he was still running a slight fever.

"I'll have to make sure that that doesn't happen", he said gently, the thought to kiss the boy occurred to Esme. But he dismissed it and stepped away from Jamie now.

"You should sleep", he said gently, turning away as he spoke.

Jamie nodded a bit and he laid back down. He pulled the covers tightly around his petite body and he shut his eyes. He slowly slipped away into sleep. He was exhausted and could get a little more sleep.

Drawing himself from his chair again, Esme followed the boy to the bed and leaned down to give him a chaste kiss on the forehead.

"You still have a slight fever", he said gently before taking the cloth from the bowl of cold water and wringing nearly dry before he placed it on Jamie's forehead. Then he pulled away and went back to his chair, picking his book up once more. It was late before he finally fell asleep with the book on his chest. He had been watching Jamie for all that time, desperately praying that nothing went wrong while the boy was sleeping.