Dexter wasn't where he was supposed to be. He woke up in a large and vacuous room. His hands were shackled; his shirt was missing. The floor was cold against his chest. He lifted his head sluggishly and looked around. Although the room was dark, he could see Saracen laying across from him, unconscious. Saracen was in the same state as Dexter: Shackled and shirtless. There were bruises all over her chest. Dexter looked down at his own chest, which was bare except for a few scars.

He scanned the room, but he couldn't see anything. He doubted he would be able to even if his eyes were adjusted. He crawled over to Saracen. He noticed how sore his muscles were. Once he got a closer look at Saracen's body, he gasped.

His fingers were horribly disfigured, twisting in abnormal directions. His bruises took on shades of purples and yellows. There were bloody gashes where his skin had torn. His chest rose and fell with every breath. Dexter shook him gently, "Wake up, Sar."

Saracen, much like Dexter, was a light sleeper. Yet it took nearly a minute for him to wake up. He jolted upright, breathing heavily.

"Morning," Dexter groaned. He wasn't really sure what time of the day it was. Saracen looked around the room, half-dazed, trying to process his surroundings. He felt a pain in his stomach, and looking down, noticed the bruises.

"God, what happened," he asked.

"I have know clue."

"It feels like I've just had a massive hangover," Saracen groaned.

"Can you remember anything from last night?"

Saracen searched through his memories. Yesterday's plot was lost, for the most part. He remembered a man, raising his bat and slamming it into Saracen's stomach. Saracen gasped, doubling over and wrapping his arms around his stomach instinctively, but the bat crashed into him again, crunching against his hands. Saracen cried out in pain. The man kicked Saracen's hands away and batted at them again. There was the cracking sound of breaking bones.

Dexter was awake too. He sat chained against the wall. He looked away, both for Saracen and himself. Although, looking away did not stop the cries from reaching his ears. The man with the bat started laughing, beating Saracen harder and quicker and more desperately. He continued until Saracen went limp. Or maybe he continued to. Saracen didn't know, because he was unconscious by then.

"A little bit," Saracen responded.

Dexter sighed, "I don't remember anything."

There were sudden footsteps, which drew closer every second. They belonged to multiple people. Three people, if Dexter had to guess. Whoever the footsteps belonged to was close. Close enough to be in the same room.

The footsteps stopped. The lights flickered on. A man appeared, and behind stood a pair of women. The man had blonde hair and baby blue eyes. He wasn't tall, but he wasn't short either. His frame was also average. He was athletic-looking. He carried himself timidly, so noticeable that anyone would immediately sense his anxious demeanor. It was very off-putting, considering he had potentially just kidnapped Saracen and Dexter.

Contradictorily, hidden beneath the shy facade, he had some sort of crazed expression. One wouldn't be surprised if you had told them that this man liked to daydreams about torturing and murdering people. Saracen realized this was the man who beat him.

"Hey," he smiled awkwardly, "My name is Kaiko." Saracen and Dexter stared at him. The man, Kaiko, was picking his nails.

"Um.." he began, "I-" He looked over to one of the women nervously.

The one with red hair smiled encouragingly at him, "It's okay. You can do it." He bit his lip.

"Well… I kidnapped you."

Saracen gasped in mock-surprise, "Wait, seriously?" he looked at Dexter, "Did you know about this?"

Dexter frowned, "No, no this is new to me too."

Kaiko scrunched his face, "Stop messing. It's not funny!"

Saracen put his hands up, "Of course not! We're just surprised that we've been kidnapped!"

"It's hard to tell when we're being held against our will," Dexter commented.

"Stop-" Kaiko's face grew red, "Stop, or I'll beat you again."

Saracen said, "Yes, I really don't want that."

Kaiko cleared his throat, "These girls," he signaled to the two women behind him, "are going to help out." The women with red hair, who had encouraged him, wore a simple black dress. The other woman wore the same black dress, except her curly dark hair was brought up into a bun. They brought boxes down and started unloading them.

Meanwhile, Saracen was getting pale. He coughed.

Something was in his throat, trying to claw its way out. He hunched over in a coughing fit. His hand covered his mouth, trying to keep inside whatever wanted out. Dexter, concerned, leaned towards him, "Are you okay?" Before Saracen could tell him he wasn't, in fact, okay, something rose in his throat. He doubled over, choking and coughing. His coughs were wet and ugly. Blood and saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth.

Dexter looked up at Kaiko, "He needs medical attention."

Kaiko almost looked guilty. He was the reason Saracen was injured. He called for 'the doctors.' Or at least, he made the red-headed woman get 'the doctors.' A few seconds later, two men came rushing down. Dexter guessed that they were healers. He was right.

Kaiko waited patiently while the healers worked their magic on Saracen. The women continued to unbox and organize supplies. Dexter only paid attention to Saracen, who lay on his back whilst the healers worked quickly. It was as though they had done this a thousand times before. They probably had.

Dexter guessed Saracen felt good right now. Healing magic was warm and calming. Although, Saracen still winced once or twice.

The healers said they would come back tomorrow to check on him, and Saracen and Dexter were left alone with Kaiko, excluding the women.

Finally, the women pulled out clothes. Women's clothing. Dexter could tell the clothing was new, but the style was not. It was like a slightly modernized Victorian dress. He could have been wrong, since it was so long ago. He never paid much attention to fashion anyways. All he knew for sure was that there was a corset and a lot of skirt layers. He was not excited.

The women, though, ignored Dexter entirely, and began to undress Saracen. "Hey!" Saracen complained. The black-haired girl started to slip the corset on, but Kaiko stopped her. "I'll do it!" He smiled timidly at Saracen; skipping over and kneeling beside him.

Saracen gasped as Kaiko laced the blue corset up, pulling his waist in a few inches. Dexter gaped at the scene; his mouth formed an 'O' shape. He widened his eyes, "Holy shit, Saracen."

In response to his comment, Saracen met Dexter's eye with a glare. Though his glare was cut short after Kaiko tightened the corset again. Saracen grunted, "It's too tight." His voice was strained. Ignoring him, Kaiko climbed on his lower abdomen, so he could run his hands down Saracen's waist, studying it. Saracen's breathing was slightly heavier now, not so concerning, but discomforting. His arms twitched in an instinctive attempt to fight back, but his shackles stopped him.

Kaiko frowned, "Are you uncomfortable?"

Saracen made a face, "How could you tell?" Kaiko leaned forward and gripped Saracen's cheeks tightly. All sense of anxiety vanished. It happened so suddenly that Saracen needed a second to register what had happened.

"Stop talking back to me! Or you're going to regret it," Kaiko warned sternly. He pressed his lips against Saracen's. Saracen bit him, and Kaiko immediately yanked back. He slapped him.

"Or what?" Saracen asked, very smugly considering the position he was in. Kaiko wipe the blood off his lip.

"Bite me again and I'll rape you till you fucking bleed!" he growled. Dexter's jaw dropped. Saracen didn't have time to respond before Kaiko's lips were against him again. Each of the women were pretending like nothing happened. They continued to care for Saracen, shaving his legs and fixing each layer of skirts.

Once they finished, they hurried off to let Kaiko admire it. He looked eagerly at Saracen's body. He trailed his fingers along Saracen's bare skin. He was getting hard against Saracen's thighs. Kaiko was on top of Saracen, trying to get his hands through the layers of skirts. Saracen was being made the object of this man's fantasies. Kaiko pulled Saracen's skirts up, pressing his crotch against Saracen's, but Saracen kicked him away, "What the fuck!"

The color flushed from Kaiko's face, "Stopping fighting me!" He shoved Saracen's leg away, but Saracen smacked his other leg right in Kaiko's nose. He bounced back. The two women came to help him up, but he waved them away, getting himself up, and stomping away. The women seemed unsure, throwing glances at each other.

Eventually, the red-head went after Kaiko, but before she could even get to the stairs, Kaiko burst through the door, bat in hand. Saracen widened his eyes and pulled his knees up defensively, but it was too late. Kaiko slammed the bat against Saracen's legs, crushing him. His bones snapped. Kaiko swung down again, busting his knees. Saracen cried out, and a raspiness that Dexter did not hear often entered his voice. Tears rolled down his cheeks. His hands scraped the floor, searching for something to grasp onto. His eyebrows creased together, contorting his face. Kaiko breathed heavily, both from anger and exhaustion. Kaiko threw his bat against the wall, and grabbed Saracen. He wrapped his arms around him, and with great struggle, carried him over to Dexter, dropping him on his lap.

"You're way too heavy," Kaiko muttered. Saracen cried out. The pain was strong and burning. The dress bunched up below Saracen, making it hard for him to move.

Dexter hugged Saracen against his chest, making sure not to put any pressure on his injuries. He lifted Saracen's leg, studying the damage. Saracen avoided eye contact. Kaiko had stormed out with his maids close behind.

Dexter did what he could to treat the injuries, but they were still relying on the healers to come the next day. If they ever were coming. Dexter wouldn't be surprised if Kaiko decided to call them off after his little temper tantrum. Saracen and Dexter exchanged very few words, mostly because Saracen was too exhausted to speak. Dexter held onto him most of the time. Their room was becoming increasingly colder. Saracen was wrapping the outermost layers of skirts around him like they were blankets. Dexter was not as affected by the cold. He never really minded cold temperatures. He still kept Saracen close to him, though, to ensure he was staying warm.

There was one point in the day where the black-haired girl came in with food. Each of them had gotten a plate, although Saracen's portions were smaller. The girl stayed and watched to make sure Dexter didn't share his meal. When she left, Saracen commented, "I'm feeling extremely targeted right now. Why aren't any of your bones broken?"

For the next few hours, they talked. About everything that just happened. They would have to figure out how to escape.

After eating the food, they were becoming increasingly sluggish.

The healers came down. They pulled Saracen off of Dexter, checking out his legs and his stomach. Their magic felt as warm as always.

Once they were alone, all they could do was wait.