Once upon a time, in a land unlike ours entirely, there resided a boy.

His name was Castiel, and he was a stable hand for the great Lord Charles and his sons. It was a quiet existence, with few friends and fewer troubles.

His closest friends were the horses, his favorite being a tan mare named Honey. She was owned by his only human friend, Gabriel, Lord Charles' (or as he preferred to be called, Lord Chuck) youngest son.

Gabriel enjoyed Castiel's company greatly, and treated him as an equal. The shorter boy described all of his daring misadventures outside of the manor grounds, often going into more detail than Castiel deemed necessary or appropriate. But he would smile and laugh as he tended to Honey after Gabriel had finished his ride, and happily converse with his friend.

Gabriel's brothers, however, were a different matter entirely.

While Gabriel's wandering and misdeeds were all in jest, his brothers' ill-doings were not. Lucifer was often mistreating the help and servants, saying that they were unfit to walk the earth, let alone tend the manor.

Michael, the eldest, was horribly overbearing towards all, especially his brothers. He often started fights with others, then accused them of having instigated the quarrel. Many a young man spent a day in the stock for such transgressions.

Eventually, Lord Chuck was through with his son's misbehaving. After having caught Gabriel with pockets filled to the brim with sweets from the kitchen, and at the urging of his advisor Raphael, Chuck assigned Castiel a new position: Gabriel's whipping boy.

Castiel was to stand punishment for all of Gabriel's crimes.

Of course, Gabriel was not told of this. He found out after having snuck away for a mere late night ride. Returning to the stable with Honey's reins in hand, he was surprised by the lack of his friend. Castiel, being an orphan without a cottage to call home, often slept in the stables instead of the servants' quarters

The next morning, he was made aware of his friend's career change.

-S-

"Ah, Gabriel. We missed you at breakfast," Lord Chuck addressed his son wearily.

"I apologize, Father, but I felt the need to sleep late today." Gabriel grinned cheekily at his father, but Chuck's expression only became dourer.

"Yes, I trust your midnight ride was enjoyable?"

Gabriel turned to see Raphael enter the drawing room, firmly gripping his friend's shoulder. Castiel's eyes were wide and panicked, but his expression was stoic as usual.

"I don't understand your meaning, sir."

"You have been disobeying your father for far too long, young lord. Now you shall know the price for your transgressions."

Before Gabriel could comprehend what was being told to him, Raphael turned Castiel to face him and struck the boy roughly across the face. Cas gave a muffled cry, but made no move to flee.

"What in God's name?" Gabriel cried angrily, rushing to his friend. Chuck laid a strong hand on his son's shoulder.

"You do not take your own crimes seriously, when the punishments merely affect you. Maybe you will behave now that your actions affect others," Chuck's voice was melancholy, but his tome was firm.

"Continue, Raphael," the lord commanded.

Gabriel could only stand in abject horror as Raphael struck at Castiel twice more. The boy made no sound this time, and his eyes were firmly closed, with his mouth set in a grim line.

"There. Now you may return to your other duties, Castiel," Chuck said softly.

The boy turned his steely-blue eyes towards his master and nodded, before quietly shuffling from the room.

"I hope you've learned something from this, boy," Raphael said primly, but Gabriel could see the thinly veiled sneer of satisfaction on the man's face.

I'll kill you, the boy thought. He felt hot tears building up behind his eyes.

"If I may take my leave, father?" He managed to inquire, with only a slight tremor in his voice. Chuck looked down at his son and nodded. Gabriel speed from the room.

-S-

"Cas? Cas, where are you," Gabriel cried out as he entered the stable. His face was red from running, and his golden eyes sparkled with unshed tears. They began to fall at the sight of his friend's face.

Castiel's pale skin was already beginning to show bruises. A trickle of blood trailed from his dark hair down his forehead. Gabriel recalled Raphael's tendency to wear rings and winced in sympathy for his friend.

"Cas, I'm so sor-" he didn't finish as he choked out a sob. Castiel crossed the straw covered floor and wrapped his arms around Gabriel.

"It's alright, Gabriel. There are many who have received worse. I'm glad I could spare you this pain," the boy's oddly deep voice resonated comfortingly about the stall.

"No, Cas, this isn't- This is not okay. You should be angry, or at least upset…Damn it, Cas, you should hate me!"

"No, Gabriel. I shouldn't. This, your reaction, is exactly why I shouldn't. Knowing that you are concerned for my well-being is enough."

"I'll never let them hurt you again, Cas. They will never have another reason to hurt you, just because of some stupid thing I did," Gabriel promised, burying his face in his friend's shirt. Cas patted him on the back in that awkwardly-charming way he had. It made Gabriel want to laugh and sob at the same time.

-S-

And so Gabriel's adventures ceased to exist. He never started quarrels at dinner parties, never played pranks on guests, never snuck away, nor shirked any responsibility. He became the perfect image of the obedient son. His dad was happy; Cas was safe. Gabriel reasoned that, though he was now more confined, all would be well.

Until Raphael suggested that, as this method had worked so remarkably well on Gabriel, the lord should endeavor to use it on all of his sons.

So it was decided that Cas was to face punishment for any wrongdoings of Lucifer and Michael as well.

As anyone could imagine, this had the opposite effect upon the older boys. Michael, of course, was not doing it out of spite towards Castiel or Gabriel or anyone else; he simply had no control over his temper. Anyone, be they peasant or noble, was to face his wrath if they dared besmirch his family name.

And so Castiel was punished.

Lucifer, on the other hand, quite enjoyed this new development. He began to grow more vicious, fueled in his misdeeds by the thought of increasing the worthless stable boy's torture.

And so Castiel was punished.

Now Gabriel was helpless to protect his friend from his brothers. He tried to convince his father to stop, to see sense, to see how brutal and unfair this was. But this had worked for Gabriel, it could work for his eldest sons. Raphael continued to advise that this was the best course of action, so it continued to occur.

Finally, Gabriel was unable to stand it any longer. He took what money and resources he had, wrote a letter to his father, and explained to Castiel what was to happen: they would flee the manor together.

-S-

"You are more a brother to me than any of my own blood who bear that title."

-S-