Pairing: Elijah/Lucien (M/m) strap/hand
1002 A.D., South France
Elijah walked in his and Tristan's chamber's to find Kol in the corner stripped below the waist. Elijah winced to see the red welts left by the master's switch up and down his backside and legs. He felt a strong wave of remorse. This was his little brother.
"Kol," Elijah said gently, as he walked up behind him. "I am sorry. You can turn around."
Kol did and Elijah saw the dried tears on his face, "Forgive me, Brother. Come here." Elijah put his arms around Kol and was relieved when he did not push away in anger. "I'll have the girl prepare you some salve."
"No!" Kol exclaimed. "That's what I wanted to tell you. Eira has her own herbal garden patch and she is growing vervain. She added it to what she used on Lucien. That is why it burned and impeded his healing."
"What? Vervain in this land?" Elijah was shocked. He looked at Kol with new eyes. "You can redress. I shall not thrash you again. Is that why you were late for your lesson?"
"Aye, I had her show me where it was and she was telling me of the properties for humans," Kol admitted as he put his hose back on painfully. He bit his lip, but said nothing more.
"Oh Kol, I ought to let you thrash me for not listening to you. I am sorry. I will talk to the master this eve and ask him only to whip you lads when you do not know your lessons or are disobedient. Forgive me," Elijah asked again. "I was too hasty to assume none of you would behave."
Kol looked up and nodded, "Of course, Elijah. He does have a strong arm for an old man, truly."
"Rebekah and Finn are home now. She ravaged a village and they had to burn it. So I think you get a time of reprieve the next time you are due punishment," Elijah smiled as he put an arm around him again.
"Will that get me out of lessons or standing in this dreadful corner?" Kol asked hopefully.
"I was thinking you could miss out on a well-deserved whipping, but it can be your choice, Brother," Elijah insisted.
"Can I go see them?" Kol inquired.
"I had to put your sister to bed with a hot bottom, but if you wanted to vex Finn, I am sure he is boring the servants with his tales of how awful his family is," Elijah surmised.
"He got to you already, did he not?" Kol asked without surprise.
"Aye, he almost let Rebekah run off with a lover. Then, brings her back her for me to punish. Is he not the eldest one of us?" Elijah asked archly. "Yet all this unpleasantness falls on me as the next eldest."
"We had another sister once, the first born. For witches, she would have been the most powerful. I am always puzzled that Mother with all her dark magic...and she could not save her from that plague?" Kol wondered.
"I do not believe she used dark magic until they arrived at the New World. I think I heard Ayana mention that once and Mother hushed her. Kol, are your witch friends going to follow you here? You can tell me now. I shall not get angry," Elijah said.
"No, Brother. They would not know where to find me, us. May I go now? I shall tell Nik what I learned about the herbs," Kol shared.
"Aye, go. And Kol, thank you for your understanding," Elijah said in a low voice.
"I was frightened you were going to whip me even harder, Elijah," Kol revealed.
"Sometimes I would do well to listen better to my brothers, well, you and Niklaus," Elijah admitted. "Finn, i would like to listen less to."
Kol grinned, "Want me to put dung in his bed again?"
Elijah laughed, "No, I do not. Let us just suffer through his tirades with dignity. Go speak to Niklaus. I am going to find Tristan."
Elijah walked down to the Great Hall. The steward found him and was discussing some estate matters with him as they heard shouting.
Elijah told the steward to leave and walked quickly to the sound. It was coming from the kitchen. Lucien was shouting at a teenage boy loudly as he brandished a leather strap in his right hand. As Elijah watched in horror, Lucien's fangs emerged and his eyes darkened.
"Lucien, control yourself. What is the matter?" Elijah intervened. Lucien's face went back to normal, but he was breathing heavily.
"This ...this boy pinched Eira's bottom and said lewd things to her. I was going to give him a taste of the strap," Lucien thundered.
"I was take care of this. I think you best go to your bed chambers now," Elijah said taking the strap from his hand. The sandy haired blond boy cowered in fear.
"But he needs to be punished! This is my right! He ought to get flogged in the Great Hall. I am going to have a word with Tristan about this," Lucien fired back as he started to stalk off. "I just gave him a little slap."
"Lucien, on second thought. You march yourself up to my chambers. Right now, do you hear me?" Elijah said looking into his eyes.
"Yes, I will go to your bed chamber right now," Lucien repeated as he turned to leave.
Elijah put the strap down on the counter, "Relax, son, I am not going to strike you. Tell me what happened please. Then, you will forget what you saw with Lucien."
"I was just jesting with Eira. She pinched me first, we always play like that. It was nothing untoward, m'lord, she is my cousin. All I said to her was she had a fat arse, but it was a jest. The Lord Lucien slapped my face and said I was getting a flogging. Eira is gathering herbs and did not see nothing or she would put a stop to it. Why did his face change like that? Is he a demon?" the boy trembled.
"Lad, what do they call you?" Elijah said gently.
"Red, m'lord, but my Christian name be Ethelred," Ethelred shared.
"Well, young Ethelred, I am going to have a talk with Lucien. Do you work here in the kitchen?" Elijah asked.
"Aye, m'lord, I come to follow Eira after my Da died from the pox last winter. Cook says I am a good worker and a quick study," Ethelred said proudly. "I started our working the spit and now do the bread already."
"Good to hear, lad. You are very well-spoken and calm under pressure. I am in need of a helper for our steward, such as his duties are very heavy. You would need to learn to cipher and to read, though. Let me speak to Cook and see if we can work something out. How many summers have you?" Elijah asked.
"About 13 or 14, m'lord. I would be honored," Ethelred said in a hush. "Will Lord Lucien be very angry with me?"
"You still recall that?" Elijah said in surprise.
"Yes, m'lord. It just happened," Ethelred said uncertainly.
Eira strode into the kitchen carrying an apron full of herbs, when she saw Elijah, she dropped them in shock. Both Ethelred and Elijah bent to help her retrieve them, he felt the hiss of the vervain burn his skin before he saw it.
"Apologies, my lord. I made a tea for my cousin here to help him sleep at night," Eira explained quickly.
Elijah clarified, "Oh, you make a tea out of these herbs. Do you drink it too?"
"Oh no, m'lord. I have no trouble sleeping," Eira smiled. "Ethelred, what happened to your face?"
Elijah cut in, "He had a little mishap. But I am going to speak to Cook about making him the Steward's helper. I can tell Ethelred is a clever boy."
Eira smiled and nodded. She excused herself and left the room to attend to her other duties.
Elijah put a hand on Ethelred, "My boy, please do not reveal what you saw with Lucien's face. It is very important. Can you give me word that you will not speak of it?"
"Yes, m'lord," Ethelred breathed in awe.
"Good. Let us go speak to Cook and then we shall arrange your training," Elijah announced. "Then, I need to speak to Lucien."
Klaus' Chambers
"He what? Struck a young boy in the face?" Klaus pressed.
Elijah nodded, "Eira has been brewing the vervain in a tea for Ethelred, the lad. I tried to use compulsion to make him forget about seeing Lucien's fangs, but it did not work. The tea must make people immune to our 'charms.'"
"This could come in handy for humans. Perhaps we need to destroy this herb?" Klaus suggested.
"Let us wait until we know the full properties. Eira made me some salve with a slight amount in it. I thought it might come in useful in teaching Lucien a lesson about how to teach children," Elijah opined.
"Truthfully, Brother, you did the same to Kol. Not listening to him and punishing him for it," Klaus pressed.
Elijah exhaled, "Lucien is waiting in my room. Would you you like to deal with him? What I also think he needs a lesson in is respect and how to speak to people. He was quite rude to me."
Klaus frowned, "Nay, he deserves a hiding from you. I do not have the heart to punish me after my failure with our sister."
"Niklaus, you did not fail her. I feel like Finn did, though. What has he been up to all day?" Elijah asked.
"Nothing much aside from pacing around. We could use his help around here. Like you mentioned, the steward is harried and overworked. The marshal and guards could use some assistance, but I doubt he is interested in that," Klaus intoned.
"I cannot deal with him now. Have you seen Tristan?" Elijah asked.
"Aye, I believe he went riding with Kol and Rebekah," Klaus mentioned.
"That explains his absence. Off to dole out more correction," Elijah said as he left.
Elijah and Tristan's Bed Chamber
Lucien was angry and embarrassed. As far as he was concerned, when he was killed and restored to this new life, his nobility was returned to him. He could not be godlike and have to muck out stables again. No one even mentioned him staying a servant, yet he still was not quite a lord. He did not know what he was.
Elijah came in holding the strap, "There you are, Lucien. Have you settled down?"
Lucien was insulted, "Me? Settle down. I was defending the honor of a girl. He had no right."
"Did you know Ethelred is Eira's cousin? They often play roughly," Elijah said setting down the strap on a cabinet.
"Red? That boy is her cousin? I did not know," Lucien admitted.
"You struck the boy and were prepared to strap him for merely interacting with his relative. Plus, you lost control of your temper and your fangs came out. You revealed yourself as a night creature to anyone watching," Elijah said sternly.
"I was angry and I took it out on the boy," Lucien said getting up and kicking the stone wall in frustration.
"What happened?" Elijah said.
"Tristan was showing off again for the Lord Kol and Lady Rebekah. We got into an argument and he left with them to ride without me. I am sorry for striking the boy," Lucien said. "But are you going to whip me? The master already switched us in the morn!"
"I was perhaps too hasty in my instruction. I shall remedy that and tell him to only punish you lads when you are in need of correction. But right now, I feel like you are in need of punishment for your behavior. You were out of control, not just toward Ethelred, but toward me. I should not have had to compel you to go to my chambers, that is going to cost you extra," Elijah informed the young vampire.
"So Tristan gets to go off riding and I am to get another whipping? I do not even know my place here anymore. Am I to be a lord or a commoner? Am I to be treated as an immortal or a child?' Lucien fumed as his face turned dark.
"Lucien, calm yourself a moment. Consider yourself my brother's ward now. If he is a lord in this land, then so are you. In time, you can have your own lands and titles, but for now, you must learn control and some respect. You are too concerned about Tristan and not concerned enough about how your own behavior affects others. Do you understand?" Elijah prompted.
"Yes, but if I am Lord Niklaus' ward, why is he not punishing me himself? Is he too busy for me also?" Lucien whined.
"Nay, but in our family, I tend to handle most of the misbehavior when I encounter it. If you need correction from my brother, you receive it from him. Do not fear, like him, I will never truly harm you. But I am going to have the boy apply this salve to your rear so the punishment can be felt," Elijah stated.
Lucien nodded glumly, "I understand, lord." Elijah situated Lucien on the bed and took down his hose to bare him. Elijah fetched the boy from the hallway and had him coat Lucien's backside and thighs with the salve and then replace his hose. Elijah had no desire to burn his hands again with the vervain.
"You might feel a little burning, but the real burn is going to be from my hard across your behind," Elijah insisted.
Lucien sniffed, "I can feel it, but it is not painful."
"Before I lay you over my lap, I am going to give you ten with the strap. Do not get up, lad," Elijah said as he picked up the heavy leather strip.
"Aye, m'lord," Lucien said hoarsely.
Elijah doubled the strap and measured it across Lucien's seat after tucking up his tunic out of the way.
"Ready?" Elijah asked.
"I am," Lucien choked out. Crack! Elijah immediately walloped him. Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
By the fifth stroke, Lucien was shifting his hips and gasping for breath. The burning was unbearable and he was thankful for his hose, but being a vampire made his senses sharper. Each cut of the strap seemed to hurt more and he wanted nothing more than to flee. He started to rise, but Elijah pushed him back down.
"Five more," Elijah said gruffly. Thwap!
Lucien broke down crying. Thwap!
"Please, m'lord," Lucien begged. Thwap! Thwap!
"Almost finished with the strap," Elijah vowed. Thwap!
Lucien sobbed in relief, but Elijah was not done with him.
He sat on the bed and ordered Lucien to lay over his lap. Lucien rested most of his body on the bed and his long legs remained on the floor. Elijah put his hand on Lucien's warm backside and laid down a hard crack! Whack!
Elijah smacked steadily and slowly. Lucien wept and thrashed uselessly as his strapped behind was now thoroughly spanked. Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
Elijah made sure to cover every area and then did another circuit of smacks. Only when Lucien stopped struggling and lay quietly over his lap after three minutes of swats did he stop.
"My hand hurt after that little strapping did it not?" Elijah said.
"Yes, m'lord," Lucien wept. "I am sorry. I will tell the boy that."
" I ever catch you behaving like that again, I will spank you right in front of the person you are cruel to. You know how to behave properly," Elijah lectured. He rubbed Lucien's back and waited until his crying was under control.
Elijah lifted him and laid the boy on the bed carefully. Elijah laid beside him.
"You had a rough day, eh?" Elijah said as he wiped Lucien's tears away with a soft cloth.
"Yes, m'lord, I suppose I did," Lucien admitted sniffing a bit. "Is Lord Niklaus going to be vexed with me?"
"I think not. I have already punished you. I feel like you learned your lesson. May I see your backside again?" Elijah asked quietly. Lucien's hose were still around his ankles and her behind was bare.
Lucien turned more to the side and Elijah glanced saw that it looked red and swollen in the places the strap had struck. "That strap left its mark. How about we throw it in the burn pile? It is not fit to use on man nor beast."
Lucien smiled finally, "You did not swing it too hard, m'lord. I got it harder in the stables when I fought with two other grooms about a lass."
"I only used that strap to make a point. I did not want to hurt you. I know sometimes I can be too hard on you boys, but today I wanted to let you know that I do care. I know Tristan does, too. He is just caught up in the excitement of having a new friend. I am sure you two will make up," Elijah said as he covered Lucien with a light blanket.