Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Where You Belong ❯ Act 01 ( Chapter 1 )

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

"Where You Belong"
a Sailormoon Fan Fic
by Temple Priestess
webmistress@celeschere.com
*****

Lord Kunzite gazed around the grand court with a sigh of boredom. He had seen enough dancers, acrobats and bards perform to last him three lifetimes. Queen Beryl, who was seated at his right in her lavish throne, looked over to him with concern.

"Is anything the matter, Lord Kunzite?" she inquired.

"No, your Highness. Just a little fatigued from battle," he replied, trying to look sincere. The queen smiled at him, dark eyes glittering in a porcelain face haloed by thick black curls. She was indeed very beautiful, but unfortunately it was only superficial; her inner beauty left much to be desired.

It was known throughout all of the kingdoms that Queen Beryl was infatuated with Prince Endymion. Her family and his had been in alliance for decades, allowing the queen to see the prince that she adored quite often. His family always provided protection for the queen's small kingdom; quite frequently as it were, for the queen seemed to provoke hostility and numerous battles with most of the surrounding kingdoms in the Western Province. Kunzite suspected she did so just to receive attention from the prince, to have him be her protector, hero and (hopefully most of all) lover.

The queen could not hide her disappointment when Endymion had sent Lord Kunzite and a small regiment to assist her this time, instead of coming to her aide himself. It was only a skirmish against a small neighboring fiefdom and Kunzite explained to the queen that Endymion was away on extremely urgent diplomatic matters on the far away planet of Neptune. The battle was over within two days and with hardly any causalities. A peace agreement had successfully been negotiated and now Kunzite had to suffer through the last part of any successful victory--the celebration. He honestly felt more at home on the battlefield, sword in hand, than sipping on overly sweet wine among the drunken revelry of courtesans.

"I have a gift to bestow upon you," Beryl informed the Lord with great pride. Kunzite tried to hide a look of disgust from playing on his face, as he had been the recipient of several of the queen's "gifts" before. They were always gaudy and generally served no purpose except to remind everyone of her assumed greatness; the worst had been a life-size statue of the queen that Kunzite had to lug back to the Earth Palace. Endymion immediately banished it to the treasure room, only allowing it to be displayed when the queen came for a visit.

Queen Beryl rose and clapped her hands, effectively bringing silence to the room.

"Bring in the gift for Lord Kunzite!" she called out, prompting two guards to appear, with another person nestled between them. They approached the throne and the guards withdraw as the third knelt on the ground.

Kunzite could not help but stare at the youth before him. He was unlike anyone the Lord had ever seen-- a thin but well toned physique, pale flawless skin that shined like opalescent pearl, a wavy mass of golden hair that flowed all the way down his back while a few stray tendrils softly played around the beautiful features of his face. Kunzite wanted to see his face completely, but the man kept it bowed to the ground respectfully. The only clothing he wore was a pair of gauzy pants and thick collars of gold that encircled his wrists and neck. A golden chain was attached to the neck collar and lay draped around the young man's shoulders.

"Lord Kunzite, I am pleased to present you with one of our finest slaves. He is yours now and will obey your every wish and desire." At the queen's words, the young slave crawled in front of Kunzite and bowed before him.

"I am yours to do with as you please, Master." The words were spoken softly in a voice akin to silk. Kunzite still could only stare at the beautiful creature before him, one who had just told him that he would do anything his Master desired. As incredibly enticing the offer was to Kunzite, his heart was disgusted at the thought of taking a slave. No one at Endymion's court owned slaves, for they thought the practice was barbaric.

Kunzite managed to tear his eyes away from the youth in order to address the queen.

"Your Highness honors me with such a magnificent gift, but I could not possibly accept such a precious treasure and let it leave your Highness' court."

Confusion flickered across Beryl's face. "Does he not please you? If so, then we will find a more suitable slave that is to your liking. The guards may have this one for themselves tonight."

Kunzite turned his attention back to the youth, whose body had started to shake with fine tremors at the queen's words. Three burly guards started to approach, unmistakable lust evident in their eyes. Kunzite swore he heard the slave speak again, so softly that he could barely catch the desperately uttered word: Please!

"No, no, your Highness, he is more than acceptable. I did not feel worthy of such a gift, but if it will please your Highness, I would be more than happy to accept your most gracious offer." Kunzite steeled his expression into a sincere and grateful smile which seemed to please Beryl.

"Wonderful! Why not take your prize to your rooms now and let him show you exactly why he is the finest slave we have to offer." A roar of laughter and jests rippled thought the crowd as Kunzite reluctantly bent down and picked up the golden chain. For one brief moment, the slave dared to raise his eyes to barely meet Kunzite's own, brilliant blue eyes silently thanking him. Kunzite headed through the crowd of onlookers, his "gift" following behind him, head bowed as he was led away like a collared animal.

It was only a short distance to the rooms that had been provided for Kunzite during his stay and for this he was extremely grateful; he couldn't bear the presence of anyone else at the moment, save for the young man that he now found in his possession. Upon entering his bedroom, Kunzite let go of the chain and sat on the bed to face his slave, who immediately dropped to his knees, head bowed in complete submission.

"Look at me," Kunzite ordered and then nearly gasped as the young man raised his head. Now that his face was fully revealed, it was breathtaking to behold--a beautiful face that could have easily been carved from ivory, full lips that were adorned with a rosy tint that also blushed the top of his cheeks. However, the most beautiful feature of all were his eyes--bright cerulean blue framed by long golden lashes. Sadly, the one thing missing was the glimmer of light within those eyes; as beautiful as they were, they lacked the shining that spoke of life. All that remained was a dull glow, a look of defeat, hopelessness and ultimately despair. Kunzite wanted to draw the young man to him, wanted to urge the light to return to those entrancing eyes. However, there was also so much he wanted to know first. He suspected the youth was put into slavery against his will, although there were many who willingly entered into such positions, exchanging their bodies and services for the luxuries that could be lavished upon them.

"What is your name?" was Kunzite's first question. His slave drew in a shuddering breath and barely whispered his response: Zoisite.

"That's a lovely name," Kunzite commented, trying to put the youth at ease, but to little avail. "How is it that you came to Queen Beryl's court as a slave?"

Once again Zoisite drew in a deep breath, as if to calm himself, or to hold his emotions in check.

"When I was young, my parents sold me to a slave trader because my family was very poor. For the first few years I worked for a Lord as a field hand, harvesting and planting crops and tending to the livestock. It was then that another trader happened to notice me and bought me from my Lord. He told me that I was going to bring him great wealth as a...a pleasure slave."

Kunzite winced at the words as a deeper blush rose in Zoisite's face, revealing his shame and embarrassment.

"I was sent to work in many different "houses" for the next few years, mainly those catering to royalty and the nobility of their courts. A year ago, Queen Beryl made a visit to the house I was at and found me to be to her liking. Being the queen, all she had to do was say she wanted me and I came here to the palace."

Anger began to rise in Kunzite amid the sorrow and disgust he felt at all this young man had suffered in his life. He wanted to ask more, wanted to know what those bastards had done to this delicate creature, but he knew it would only make Zoisite relive those horrible moments.

As Kunzite was lost in his thoughts, Zoisite had silently crawled over to him. He drew Kunzite's attention back to him, while also eliciting a sudden gasp, by rubbing his cheek against the inside of his Master's thigh. Kunzite pushed Zoisite back, a little rougher than intended, but the young man's touch had instantly stirred arousal in him. He had no intention of taking Zoisite, yet it took every ounce of his will power not to throw the beauty onto the bed and ravish him. He would not treat Zoisite as all the others had.

"Master?" Zoisite questioned fearfully, unshed tears shining in his eyes. Then: "I'm sorry Master. I acted without your permission. Please punish me as you see fit." Zoisite bowed to the floor, exposing his bare back. Kunzite could make out faint outlines of scars crisscrossing the fair skin. Obviously Zoisite had been whipped in the past and now expected that Kunzite would do the same.

Kunzite knelt next to the trembling youth and pulled him up into his arms. Zoisite's trembling increased until Kunzite held him tightly yet gently, whispering soft words of comfort into his ear.

"I'm not going to hurt you, not ever. You don't deserve this kind of life. I'll take you away from here, away from anyone who would dare hurt you. I promise."

Kunzite was just as shocked at his words as was Zoisite. He had only known this young man for less than an hour and already wanted to protect him, to take him away from his life as a slave, to try and bring the light back into his eyes...

"Thank you, Master," Zoisite whispered back, melting into the strong arms embracing him; for some reason he felt safe, a feeling he never remembered experiencing in his whole life.*****

.:tbc:.