Normally I wouldn't update so quickly, but my buddy has been bugging me to post this chapter, so here you guys go!
When Alfred awoke, he was chained to a wall. He was really cold, and he realized that he was in a large stone basement. There was barely anything around except a dog kennel, a random plank of wood, and a dirty mattress. He was confused as to why he had woken up here for a few seconds, until he remembered his unfortunate encounter with the creepy giant. He sighed and began to try and struggle out of his bonds, smirking when he pulled out of the chains. He mentioned that he was strong, didn't he? He sat there for a few seconds longer, rubbing his arms and making sure that nothing had been broken or worse. He was satisfied when his search revealed that everything was alright, and he shakily stood, using the stone wall to help himself up. He walked a couple of steps, but froze when he heard a door opening somewhere above his head and to his left. Light suddenly washed over the cold room, and he looked up to see the giant that kidnapped him standing in the doorway and staring at him.
"Well, podsolnechnik, I see that you are awake." The man commented, walking down the stairs and approaching the blond. Alfred shivered and tried to step away, but was stopped by the wall behind him. The man giggled at his sad attempt at escape, and came closer still. "Vy tak ocharovatel'ny." He said softly, running his hand over Alfred's hair. Alfred jerked back from the touch, wincing when his head slammed against the hard wall. The giant giggled again, and then spoke in English. "Hello, sunflower." He stated. "My name is Ivan. You will be my new pet."
This was about the point when Alfred's mind went blank. His poor brain struggled to make sense of the giant man (Ivan, apparently)'s statement. His... pet? As in, a furry mammal that walked on a leash and went to the bathroom outside? Last he had checked, Alfred was not a pet. And what was with this sunflower business? Was he a plant, or a dog? Wait a second, he was neither. He was a human being, damnit! Ivan watched, amused, as he watched his pet's face change with different emotions. Finally it stopped on anger, and his sunflower opened his mouth to rebut.
"I am not a pet! And my name is not sunflower, it's Alfred!" The blond said angrily, face lighting up bright red as he yelled. Ivan giggled at his pet's anger, thinking silently that his pet would realize his place after enough time living with him. He would make sure of that.
"But you are a pet, podsolnechnik. My pet. Well, you will be after I finish training you." He giggled some more, already fantasizing about their training. Alfred's face drained of all color at this, and his eyes got even wider than they had been. He began stuttering as he envisioned what being Ivan's "pet" would be like. He could see visions of blood, sweat, and tears, and this didn't sit well with him.
"Look, Ivan or whatever your name is. I don't know if you're gay or just messed up in the head, but I'm not into that kind of thing. Human pets? A little too adventurous for me." He giggle nervously, not looking at the giant as he rubbed the back of his head in a nervous gesture. Ivan didn't let go, however, and Alfred was eventually forced to look back into the glowing orbs of purple. His face reddened as he saw that the giant was laughing at him, blush widening as he realized that it was probably all a prank. It was probably organized by his workmate Gilbert, the irritating jerk. He could imagine the albino designer's face as he laughed at Alfred's misfortune, making fun of his face and actions. This though made Alfred feel exponentially better, at least until Ivan started talking again.
"Gay? Oh, no. I didn't want this to be some thing where we both get pleasure and you can return to being a human whenever you want. This is going to be a permanent thing. We will not fall in love, we will not have sex, and I will not treat you as if you are a human being. You will be my pet dog, and I will be your owner. I will decide what you eat, what you do, and when and where you will sleep. You will obey me, unless you want to be punished. Do I make myself clear, podsolnechnik?" When Alfred didn't answer, he slapped him across the face. "I asked you a question, sobaka." Alfred looked down and nodded, fighting the urge to sob. Ivan smiled happily, and then beckoned the depressed blond to follow him. He led them both upstairs and into a cozy living room.
Ivan sat down on the couch, pulling a still shocked Alfred into his lap. "I'll have to go over the ground rules with you, since you've obviously never done this before." Ivan decided. Alfred looked at him listlessly, realizing that he should listen is he wanted to survive this place unscathed. "First thing's first," Ivan started, "You will not talk. You may bark, as you are a dog, but you may not speak a word. I will teach you a little bit of Russian, as that is the main language that I will be speaking, but it will only be because I want you to learn some basic commands. Secondly, your new name will be Podsolnechnik. That means sunflower in Russian, just so you know. I will only address you as this, so get used to hearing it. You will have to obey my every word. I will teach you some tricks, and if you do not do things right you will be punished. You may wear shorts, but nothing else. Finally," Ivan held up a large brown leather collar. "You will always wear it, even when taking a bath. I will make sure that it stays on your neck. Do you understand?" Alfred nodded miserably, and Ivan smiled.
"Good boy." He praised, "Now come on. Would you like some more food?" Alfred nodded again, and crawled after Ivan after being ordered to. They made it to the kitchen, where Alfred was ordered to lie down in front of Ivan's chair as the giant cooked. He did this without hesitation or complaint, and Ivan was excited that his pet was already so well trained. He had really expected having a pet to be harder than this. He did notice, though, that his pet was humming something to himself as he waited. Ivan listened harder as he fried the eggs that he was making, and smiled when he recognized the song. It was something about a broken heart, sung by someone named Carmen or something. He had heard it on the radio and in bars, although the singer was a female and therefore he though of it as a girly song. When his pet hummed it, though, it just seemed adorable. He sang the lyrics in his head as Alfred hummed them, finally finishing the eggs and putting them on two plates. He carried his to the table, but he placed Alfred's underneath, right next to his feet. His pet went to eat, but he stopped him by kicking him softly in the ribs.
"No, Podsolnechnik." He admonished. "You may not eat until your master tells you to." Alfred nodded and waited, looking down impatiently at his food. After a few minutes he began to wiggle restlessly. What could he say, he really liked his food. Ivan giggled at Alfred's childishness, but eventually gave him the Russian command. "Yest." Alfred correctly guessed the meaning and began to scarf down his food, although the process was made harder by the fact that he couldn't use his hands. He eventually finished, though, and laid at Ivan's feet as the man began to pet his head softly. Maybe this won't be so bad. He thought to himself. Maybe I could get used to this. After all, he's about the only person who's ever shown any interest in me. It was true. He had friends in his life, of course, but none of them really knew him. None of them spent this much attention on him, and they didn't meet up with him unless it was convenient for them. Even his brother and father, Arthur and Matthew, moved away from him as soon as he was old enough to get his own apartment.
Ivan sensed his pet's sadness and pet him some more. He eventually pulled him up into his lap, hugging him as Alfred buried his nose in his neck. It was a good feeling, even though Ivan knew that nothing good could ever come from falling in love. He had learned that the hard way. He still saw no reason not to comfort his pet, though, and so he pet him until he felt the previous mood returning. Now, this he could deal with. Fear he was used to. He squeezed harder and felt as Alfred began to tense up and squirm. He giggled a little, and judging by his pet's body language, he had heard him.
"I-I-Ivan?" His pet asked, and his eyes immediately narrowed. He pushed the blond off of him. Alfred hit the floor, making a little "oof" Sound as he smacked against the tile. He tried to get back up, but Ivan held him down by placing his foot on his chest. Alfred tried his best to struggle, he really did, but he had no leverage and Ivan was a giant. He eventually settled down, lying on his back as Ivan glared angrily at him. The giant finally began talking, and Alfred's blood ran cold at the dark, angry tone he used.
"I told you that you may not speak, did I not? Well, Podsolnechnik?" Alfred began to shake, and Ivan's expression only darkened. "I believe that I asked you a question. Are you going to answer, or should I beat it out of you?" Alfred attempted to speak, but only stuttering chocking noises came out of his mouth. "Alright, Podsolnechnik, I guess it will be the latter option." With that, Ivan stood, shifting his weight onto the foot that trapped his sunflower. "Stay here." He said darkly, and he turned and left the room.
It can't be that bad. Alfred tried to convince himself. He couldn't possibly want to hurt me that bad. He probably just wants to smack my knuckles with a ruler a couple of times. Because of his reasoning he relaxed, and a small, relieved smile appeared on his face. The smile dropped off, however, when Ivan walked back into the room carrying a huge water pipe. Alfred vaguely recognized it as the pipe that was in the alley. He tried to scramble back further under the table and under Ivan's reach, but the monster just jabbed the end of his pipe into the blonde's stomach. Pain erupted across Alfred's body, and he stopped moving. Ivan advanced, dark aura swirling around him.
"I thought I told you to stay. Was I mistaken?" Alfred whimpered a little and shook his head, and Ivan smiled and lifted the pipe. "Oh, good. You're learning. I thought you might just be incredibly stupid." Alfred's eyes narrowed at this, but he wisely chose to keep his mouth shut. "You are a very slow learner, although I guess learning at all is better than nothing." Ivan suddenly lifted his pipe up and slammed it back down into the fleshy part of his pet's stomach. "Still, though, a dog does not learn if he is not punished, da?" He repeated the action a few more times, watching as Alfred flinched in pain and fear every time his beloved pipe hit him. He finally stopped and pulled the blonde up by his hair, twisting cruelly and forcing his pet to stand.
"You have been bad. Understand? Bad dog." Alfred whimpered even more pathetically, and Ivan spoke up. "Stop that pathetic sound. I don't want to punish you, but I will if I have to, da?" Alfred nodded a little, trying not to pull on his hair any more than necessary, and Ivan smiled again. He released the hair again, and brought the smaller blond into a hug. He pet his Podsolnechnik gently, giggling a little when he felt his pet shaking. "There's a good boy. Now let's go to bed, and then we can start training tomorrow, da Podsolnechnik?" Alfred nodded again, and Ivan picked him up bridal style and carried him into the bedroom.