Gilbert startled awake, his heart hammering against his chest. He sat up with a flurry and looked around finding his surroundings in nothing but pitch black, a snore erupting from a corner, a scream from outside. Gilbert was about to jump up when arms around his waist rooted him to the ground. He looked down to find a mumbling brunette clinging onto him, half of his body on cold cement and the other on a thin mattress.
Kidnapped. Sold. Death.
His heart didn't stop hammering, but his mind slowed down rapidly. Looking back down on the youth, Lovino, Gilbert reached to pet the boy and noticed his raw wrists. Someone came in to take of the cuffs, it could have been what woken him up. Francis always pranked him that way, making loud noises in the middle of the night only for Gilbert to flail out of bed and into some sort of foul shit at the edge of his bed. Not so good times.
Deeming it safe to go back to place, not that safe to shut his mind off, Gilbert lulled himself back into unconscious.
… … …
"Wake up güzellikleriuyku!"
The sudden and loud words echoed off the walls in the small tent, boring into Gilbert's head. The man groaned in annoyance, wondering why anyone would want to be so chipper in the morning. He dared an eye open and hissed when piercing light infiltrated his sight. His arms tightened around the mass next to him and he buried his face deeper into the ticklish fluff near his head.
Somewhere in his sleep state he heard heavy boots nearing him, and the sound did no register completely until said boots almost knocked the wind out of him. Gilbert's eyes shot open and his nails dug into soft flesh, his spine throbbed as he wondered if the man stepped in cement for his boots to be that hard.
"I said wake up!"
The harsh growl had Gilbert immediately obey, painfully sitting up straight and turning around to see a peculiar man; it wasn't the dark green hood or the familiar beard which had him confused, rather it was the simple white mask covering just his eyes which had Gilbert wonder who the man was. The stranger's mouth was twisted in an amused grin, his eyes shifted over to Lovino who was still asleep, and to the blonds in the corner who were already up and ready.
Gilbert didn't have time for questions, because the stranger only muttered something in a foreign tongue before leaving the tent again. Gilbert was let bewildered with the whole spectacle. He turned to wake Lovino up, noting that his chaffed wrists were redder than he thought possible. Placing a tentative hand on the Italian's shoulder, Gilbert was about to gently shake the boy awake when Lovino snorted and poorly concealed his giggles.
"You're awake…"
Lovino only snorted again.
"What's so funny?"
Lovino turned around onto his back, and Gilbert realised that somehow the two managed to cling onto each other the entire night and neither really felt the need to address the issue. The Italian sighed a bit, his giggles having died down.
"He called us sleeping beauties, just something I haven't heard him say before."
Instead of being satisfied with the answers, Gilbert was left with more questions.
"You know him? And what he said? How?"
"Well for one, I was raised learning as many languages as possible. How can I carry out my duties if I don't even know what the enemy is saying?"
"Yeah, how many do you know?"
"Around six, I'm expected to know fifteen before the age of twenty. As for fuckface, we have a strange… relationship. We grew up together, somehow, his father is well respected and my father thought it was a good idea to have the children all bond together. But he always threatened to kidnap me."
Gilbert only blinked at the information, not able to form any response. What was he supposed to say? Sorry? That's cool?
Lovino spared Gilbert by continuing his story.
"His name is Sadiq Adnan, not something that's really classified at all, no one can catch him anyways. He was the guy who brought us here, I mean most of us at least, he's good at what he does."
The name had Gilbert freeze as he realised who the man was, yet he couldn't muster up any strong emotions against the man… in a way, he had no motive to really hate the man at all. Although he kicked my back. Yeah Gilbert hated him now.
The silvernette noticed Lovino giving a calculating look.
"You know, I never got your name."
"Gilbert Beilschmidt."
Lovino snorted, his eyes failing to hide amusement.
"What, no other fancy titles?"
"Nah, my family was crap."
Or at least what he remembered of them. Lovino ducked his head in guilt, a sad look spreading across his face. Gilbert couldn't care that much about it, his surname not important to him in the least, yet the small frown on Lovino's face only made his gut tingle in suspicion.
Before Gilbert could ask the boy anything, he stood up.
"We should get ready, there are few showers and we need to share… Sadiq managed to even get us into the nicer ones too."
Gilbert only nodded and stood up as well, noticing that the other three blonds were also ready to up and go. Lovino ignored them and instead yelled something to a guard by the door, the man in turn barely batting an eye as he opened the door and allowed Lovino to exit with Gilbert in tow. The silvernette kept his eyes to the floor, hand clutching firmly to the boy in front of him.
He heard screams and wails, harsh yelling and even the voices of children. He knew this sort of thing existed, that people were taken and sold off… but never did he imagine to be a part of it. It wasn't something he wanted to commit to memory, so he kept his mind busy as Lovino guided them towards the nicer showers.
"Come on, we only have a few minutes."
There were a total of 4 showers in a very small building, two occupied and one out of order. Without wasting time, the two undressed out of the little clothes they had and quickly jumped into the only shower available. It was only when the hot water rushed over Gilbert that his mind soon caught up to him, and was left staring embarrassingly at the naked body of Lovino.
The Italian in turn said nothing, only turned around with a hard piece of soap and forced his soapy hands onto Gilbert. The silvernette shouted in surprise, but decided that this was happening right now and he should probably return the favour.
Gilbert was in the process of washing Lovino's hair when he felt a hand trail over his hip followed by a soft gasp. He froze and looked down, to see Lovino's eyes mapping out his skin. Averting his eyes upwards, Gilbert could only guess what the boy was up to.
"Your skin is so soft…"
"What?"
The Italian caught himself and looked up at Gilbert, dry shampoo clinging to his locks.
"I feel sorry for you… Yes I am going to be sold off, but I know to whom and I am strictly forbidden to have any sex with the Don. Whilst you're going to…"
The two remained quiet, staring into each other's eyes for an almost uncomfortable time. Gilbert opened his mouth to speak, words tumbling out before he could catch them.
"Do you think we could escape and find each other?"
Lovino didn't answer.
"I mean, um, I mean that maybe it be nice… I didn't mean to… um.."
Lovino said nothing, his hand trailing over Gilbert's hip once again.
"Switzerland… it's the only place free of any Dons… go to Switzerland, Engelberg. I have a friend there who can keep us safe."
Gilbert was dumbstruck, his eyes watering as he nodded in agreement and finished cleaning up.
Englberg,
… … …
The shower might have been brief, but it refreshed Gilbert in a way he never thought he'd ever appreciate a shower before. But all good things must come to an end, because just as they managed to get their skimpy clothing back on, Sadiq came barging in, yelling at them to get onto the truck before he sets the guards on them.
Lovino only quietly dragged Gilbert along again, guessing that he was briefed on the entire layout of everything beforehand. Once again there was a line of people ready to board the truck again, but not all of them looked familiar… the blonds were nowhere to be seen, and Gilbert was sure one of the women who arrived with him was dead just in the corner of his eye. Her flaming red hair waving in the wind as someone discarded another body on a slowly growing pile.
As they quietly boarded the truck again, they were given long pants and instructed to be dressed by the time they stop again. Someone else came and handed each one of them a stale loaf of bread and bid them farewell before they were once again plunged in darkness as they all sat down.
Lovino and Gilbert managed to be together again and ate their bread in silence. The promise they made to meet in Engelberg still ringed in Gilbert's head; it gave him hope, a reason to life until the next day. If he were to die, then Lovino would be alone… Gilbert didn't think the boy would be able to return home if he ditched his mission… and he swore he heard Lovino whisper something about them being friends, and it brought a warmth in Gilbert's heart.
A warmth he hadn't felt in a long time.
It must have been a few minutes, or maybe hours, when Lovino finally spoke up. In the previous silence, Gilbert managed to tense up as the reality of everything once again managed to settle.
"Don't worry, they won't just sell you off to anyone. You're rare, at least that's what I heard. I remember there was once a woman like you too, it took an entire war between Dons to settle who would have her… no one knows what happened to her."
Lovino shut up again, realising his story might not have been the most comforting of one. The story only brought images of a laughing woman in Gilbert's mind, her eyes crinkling in delight as her long hair whipped carelessly in the wind.
"Maybe she had a happy ever after?"
"Maybe,"
Not too long after, it could have been years, did the truck come again to an abrupt stop. Gilbert's lungs and heart squeezed, fear pooled in his gut and his mind drifted too far away. Lovino picked up his hand and placed a comforting kiss on his knuckles, a promise that they will survive for each other.
The doors opened, everyone got up, and filed out neatly. One or two people were yanked aside and beaten half to death for not having their pants on. Their bruised and broken bodies discarded as no one batted an eye at them. Gilbert tried not to stare at them, guilt and fear never leaving his body.
When he did look up, he was almost shocked at what he found; a large and vintage manor in the middle of a dense forest. It was late and candles burned in their iron holds along the walls. It almost looked gothic, like those Halloween movies he was always roped into watching.
They must have been at the back of the manor, because he didn't see any front doors, only winding steps going down near one of the brick walls.
Going down the stairs revealed nothing more than dense curtains, but the boisterous laughter and jeering had Gilbert on edge. This was it. A simply door separated them from the crowd of sick people, pockets bursting with money as they couldn't wait to touch every ounce of skin they could reach.
The crowd calmed down when a charismatic voice suddenly spoke up. The language was foreign to Gilbert, who in turn focused on the silent prayer behind him. A woman in front of Gilbert suddenly wailed in anguish and was quickly silenced by a slap across her face. Gilbert could only flinch and clench his teeth.
The door suddenly opened and the woman was pushed through, whistles and moans filling Gilbert's ears as people admired her. He heard the charismatic voice turning seductive, he heard the woman moan, and then a loud cheer followed by clapping hands. Suddenly there was an uproar as the man yelled of prices, the only thing Gilbert could understand.
Gilbert barely had time to filter everything when the door opened and he was next. Lovino called out his name, but it was too late.
Switzerland.
Gilbert stared wide eyed at the scene in front of him; rich and entitled people seated around dinner tables, masks on their faces and numbers already half-way into the air. He turned to see the man he heard from before, a long and slender man wearing a sparkling suit with a matching top hat. His eyes were black and his skin almost sickly pale; like a devil himself.
Gilbert couldn't understand a word as the man circled around him, fingers tugging at his hair, forcing his mouth open, and peeling back his eyelids to show everyone the blood of his eyes. Gilbert thought he saw a woman playing with her nipples, another vigorously working herself under her dress and a man openly stroking his cock. He heard someone moan, or it could have been everyone.
The glittering man was suddenly behind him, his one hand gripping Gilbert's crotch and the other his chin. He burned with embarrassment, and he was sure he heard a purr echoing through the room.
The display was short-lived, as the man suddenly stepped away and started to call out prices. Gilbert refused to meet anyone's eyes, only staring the shaking boards with blood red numbers written on them, ready to claim his body
"€30 000!" Twelve numbers.
"€40 000!" Eleven numbers.
"€50 000!" Nine numbers
"€60 500!" Still nine numbers.
"€75 000!" Seven numbers.
"€90 000!" Five numbers
Gilbert stopped listening to the prices and instead focused on a few people who were willing to have him. He decided he wouldn't mind having the woman with ruby red lips and greying hair as he death wish, her breast almost bulged out of her dress and her legs arching over each other painted such an alluring picture.
In the end she was the only one with a number left in the air, her mouth parting in glee as she realised she as well. She made to stand up when a man right in front of her stood up, and yelled furiously.
"€30 000 000!"
The room went quiet, not even a whimper from the others could be heard. The man on the stage cleared his throat and made to seal the deal, the woman from before gaping openly at the blond with the mask of a fox.
Gilbert only blinked before he was whisked away and the next person was brought in, not Lovino. The man with the fox mask met him outside, where Gilbert's shackles were removed and the man quickly paid.
They were left alone.
"My name is Eduard von Bock… and I am truly sorry."
Engelberg.
