Kitsune: Hey, thanks for being so patient! CHAPTER THREE IS HERE!
Tempest: What took you so long?
Kitsune: Um….Well I've had a lot of homework and projects lately.
Tempest: That sucks, but at least it's almost summer, right?
Kitsune: Yeah! ONLY FOUR AND A HALF MORE DAYS!!! YAY!!
Tempest: *to readers* Sorry about that, she gets excited this time of year. Don't mind her.
Kitsune: What do you know? You never have to go to school!
Tempest: Never mind. Here's the fic everyone.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing! Sunrise, Bandai, and some other company do! You won't get any money because I don't have any!
Warnings: AU, Slavery, shounen-ai, maybe yaoi (boy + boy relationships) and language. You don't like? You don't read!
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Treize looked startled. "What do you mean?" he asked the boy in front of him.
"Why did you buy me? What do you intend to do with me?" he asked. When the young lord offered no reply, Wufei quietly said, "I have nothing left to live for. If you have no purpose for me, there is no reason for me to live."
The older man was shocked by the cold, dead tone in the boy's voice. He turned to fully face him and looked him in the eyes. "As long as you are alive and have the will to live, there is reason to live. "
"How would you know? What did you ever lose? I have nothing left! Nothing!" Wufei's voice had risen in both volume and pitch. He wheeled around and walked toward the door. He pulled away when Treize grasped his wrist. "Let go of me!" he screamed, trying to squirm away.
The lord's voice, too, had become cold. "You seem to have forgotten who is in control here." Wufei stopped struggling and stared in surprise. "I am the master and you are the slave. Remember that."
After that, neither spoke. Treize did not want to, and Wufei thought it was best to keep the silence. He wondered what Treize must have lost in his life in order to have a reaction like that. Then the lord summoned a slave, and sent them away to fetch something, the young man thought.
A few minutes later, the slave returned and gave Treize the object that he had wanted. As he walked closer, Wufei realized that it was a long chain. He beckoned the boy over. Wufei narrowed his eyes and did not budge. The other man said angrily, "Come here." When the other still did not move, he grew angry. "When I tell you to do something, you do it."
"I bow to no man." He shot out. The Asian boy knew that he had pushed his luck too far. Treize quickly crossed the distance between them and dealt him a painful blow to the jaw. Wufei fell backwards, clutching his mouth. His hand came away bloody. Treize regretted his hasty action, but offered no apology.
"Get up and turn around." Wufei complied reluctantly, not wanting to be struck again. He swallowed the metallic taste of blood lingering in his mouth. Aristocratic this man may be, but he could still hold his own. Treize then reached around and fastened the chain to Wufei's band. Disbelief was written all over the boy's face. First a collar, and now a leash?
The young lord then led him over to small, narrow plush sofa. He attached the other end of the chain to the decorative ironwork around the legs of the sofa. Then, without another word to Wufei, he left.
Wufei thought Treize very foolish for leaving an angry slave alone in his own chambers. He set about trying to escape. He then realized that Treize had nothing to fear from him running away. The chain was securely fixed to both his band and the sofa. Standing up, he grabbed the chain and pulled with all his strength. It moved a few inches but nothing more.
Tired, he sat down for a moment to think. The sofa was far from anything else in the room, and his chain was only about six feet long. He could manage to drag it a few feet, but that wouldn't help him very much, and only exhaust him because it was so heavy. Giving up, he decided to take advantage of the time and try to go to sleep. Treize probably wouldn't be back for a while anyway.
He curled up on the middle of the sofa and drew his knees to his chest. He wanted to cry, but would not allow himself to show weakness. Burying his grief, he drifted off into a restless sleep.
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Wufei's jolted awake when he heard a door open and close behind him. He was facing in the opposite direction, so did not see who had entered the room. Assuming it was Treize, he closed his eyes and remained still, pretending to be asleep. He heard soft footfalls come across the room.
Treize looked down at this boy. He was so beautiful when he slept. His raven hair had come out of its band and now fell in his face. Wufei was curled in a fetal position on the plush couch. The lord brushed a few strands of jet black hair from the boy's face.
Wufei was trying to resist the urge to leap, tackle, and strangle the man standing over him. He thought better of it and supposed that another opportunity would present itself. Instead he made faint groaning noises. When he heard Treize move away, he slowly opened his eyes and sat up.
"I see you're awake." He commented. Wufei said nothing. He looked outside, to see that it was early afternoon. He had only been here a few hours. And would probably remain here for the rest of his life, he thought bitterly. Treize seemed as if he was going to say something else, but stopped when a knock sounded on the door. He went and opened it. Wufei saw that it was the slave from before, Trowa.
"He," Treize gestured to Trowa, "is going to show you around the estate today so that you know where everything is."
Wufei's eyes met Trowa's. The brunette appeared very anxious and seemed almost afraid. Wufei could not figure out why until he realized how…odd…the scene would look to anyone else. His hair was mussed, his clothes were wrinkled, and he was chained to a sofa. It was, in the least, a very suggestive sight.
Treize walked over to Wufei and detached the chain from his band. Then he turned to Trowa and said, "Show him everything and bring him back here by dinner." The livery slave nodded and motioned for Wufei to follow him. Once they had left and closed the door behind them, Trowa turned to the shorter boy.
"Are you alright?" His eyes were full of worry. "I never thought he would do something like that to you, but - " Wufei cut him off.
"I'm fine." Trowa didn't look convinced. "If he had tried anything, you think I'm the kind of person to just sit there and take it?"
After that, they were silent. They went out of the main building and went in the direction of the stables. Wufei looked around him, memorizing every detail of the place. If he were to escape, he had to know everything about his surroundings.
He hardly heard Trowa telling him about the horses, naming each one and talking about them. He thought, if he had a chance, that he would steal a horse. It would be much faster than running, and there would be a better chance that he would get away.
Wufei came out of his planning when he noticed Trowa looking at him expectantly. "What?" he asked. "Did you say something?"
"I said, did you ever figure out why he bought you?" Wufei shook his head no. He wondered when he would find out, or if he really wanted to.
Trowa showed him the rest of the estate: the barns, the kitchens, and the slave quarters. Wufei was even more disgusted than he had been when he was first brought here. Noticing this, the brunette turned to him.
"You're thinking about escaping aren't you?" When the other boy ignored him, he persisted. "Don't try to run away. You'll just be caught and punished."
This time he responded, with no small amount of scorn. "You think I care? I'm not going to die here! I don't care if I die anymore, but if I do, I will do so as a free man!" Trowa saw that Wufei thought his life no longer had any value, and it was useless to try and convince him otherwise.
Thoughts of escape were still on the boy's mind as he and Trowa headed back to the manor. The estate was surrounded on three sides by dense woods, and by the other side was a road. He concluded that he would go by way of the forest, probably at night, to avoid being seen.
After he had done that, he decided he would somehow get rid of his band. Trowa was right; it would not come off. Wufei would find some way to remove it. He had to. It represented everything he hated: slavery, cruelty, and injustice. Once that was done, he didn't care what happened to him.
Wufei followed the taller boy into the building, catching a glance at the sun sinking toward the horizon. He could only hope that he could gain his liberty before it set again.
Kitsune: Well, how was it? I'm sorry if it was kinda short. Don't worry; the next chapter will have some action! ^__^
Tempest: It takes you soooooo long to update though.
Kitsune: I know, I'm SOOOOO SORRY for the wait everyone!! I am almost out of school for the summer, so I'll have a lot more time to work on these.
Tempest: You should start on the next chapter now instead of putting it off.
Kitsune: Good idea! READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!!!
