Thanks for everyone's support and love.
It would be awesome if I could say this chapter was lighter-
-but it's not.
-Warning-
There is talk about sex in this chapter. Mostly defining what sex is. But more importantly, what it isn't.
-Dark and Twisted-
Sometime during the same storm…
(A few hours later)
Yensid's eyes blur with confusion as he blinks, finding himself suddenly awake. His instincts roll with unease as he sits up in bed.
Something was off.
He could feel an urgency in the air.
The question was why? His eyes narrow as he looks around the darkness in his room.
Heavy rain and gales of wind pound against his home.
He scans his empty room in concern. What could have disturbed him enough to rouse him from slumber?
It certainly wasn't the storm. He had put his fear of those to rest long ago after a particularly hopeful apprentice had summoned a hurricane and dancing broom in his study.
Lightning flashes outside, the brief flares lighting up his room. An ear-splitting crack of thunder shakes his house before his ears twitch at a faint sound barely discernable from the storm.
With narrowed eyes, he rolls out of bed as his uneasiness seems to spread.
What was that? He frowns, the thunder finally rolling to a stop. Finally placing the sound of someone pounding on his door. Or more specifically, who?
The urgency he was sensing in the air finally making sense.
He frowns as he makes his way to his door, glancing at the clock that dimly showed four thirty-eight. Who could be at his door at this hour? And more importantly, why?
The sense of urgency seeps unbiddenly into his being as the frantic banging at his door grows more desperate. He tilts his head as he catches a word before the wind carries it away.
One word.
His name.
What was wrong? Was one of his students in trouble? Concern suddenly outweighs alarm as he rushes to the door.
No one on the isle had ever dared to knock on his door like this.
The door rattles with a dull thud.
"YENSID!" The door rattles again. "WAKE THE FUCK UP!"
"T?" Yensid's brow furrows as he unlocks the door and pulls it open, spilling a soaking wet T into the room at his feet.
The boy quickly pulls himself to his feet. His clothes soaked as the water rolls off him in sheets to flood his floor.
"T! My dear boy I'm so sorry," Yensid shakes his head and turns to a side closet where he pulls out a thick blanket to offer to T, "Wrap up in this before you catch a cold."
T waves him off with an aggressive wave of his hand. "Did any other Heros come with you!?" He demands.
Yensid steps back at the sudden question. The tone so demanding his brow flies up in concern.
He quickly studies the stoic boy, noting the way his arms crossed over his chest. The boy's stare was so intense that, even in the shadow of the hood, it burned into him. "I'm certainly not a hero." He shrugs as he tosses the blanket onto the table. T usually was straight to the point, but this time he had an edge of desperation to the question that made him want to tread carefully, "Are you asking if anyone else came with me after the barrier was erected?"
"I'm asking if any other heroes volunteered to come over and fucking help." The boy pushes back his sopping wet hood as he runs a hand through his knotted hair in agitation.
"No," Yensid meets his eyes, "just me." Another flash of lightning from outside strobes around the room the two were standing in, an effect that eerily highlights the desperation in T's eyes before it slowly morphs to a strange madness.
Neither jump as another crack of thunder shakes the house.
"Of fucking course you did." T's disgust was palpable between them. His usually laid back grin was gone. Instead, his face was curled into a snarl. His arms drop to his sides as his hands clench into two white-knuckled fists.
Yensid clears his throat, wondering what T could be looking for. Was he here about Hyades writing to the king? That didn't seem right, this felt a lot more grave. Not even Hyades treated her letters with this much import. "At the time," If T wasn't going to give him anything to work with, he'd talk until he did. It worked for his other students, but it seemed like a strange tactic to use on this particular one, "there weren't many who even knew of the King's decree to erect the barrier over the isle-"
"What the fuck is sex?" T interrupts abruptly.
"Would you like a long version where I make us a pot of tea and-"
"No. I'd like a fucking answer today."
Yensid arcs a brow at T's rudeness. It wasn't an uncommon trait on the isle, but this was the first time he was on the receiving end of it from one of the kids he deemed to care for, "Very well then," He'd always known this conversation was going to eventually happen. Sex Education was certainly not offered at the school he taught at. "Sex at its core is a physical act between two or more willing participants. If a male is involved, it generally involves the insertion of his penis into a hole of the partner, such as a mouth, or the vagina if the other partner is female. Between males, it's commonly inserted into the partner's anal cavity to stimulate pleasure, though females can enjoy that sensation as well. If only females are involved, it could involve any sort of physical stimulation to the female sexual organs. Sex in its basic form is an act that physically stimulates pleasure feelings-"
The dark expression on T's face grows more intense while he listens silently before it shifts to murderous. "Then what the fuck is it called when it stimulates pain?!"
"There are a few things that could be." Yensid frowns as a knot forms in his stomach, "Some people enjoy the sensation of pain mixed with pleasure-"
T throws out a hand dismissively, "When they don't fucking enjoy it."
"In this hypothetical situation, if someone wasn't enjoying it," Yensid furrows his brow, "Are they a willing participant?"
"Fuck no." He scoffs scornfully.
"Then it's called rape." Yensid states objectively, though he can't hide the flash of disgust on his face, "Sex an act that should always, and only, be preformed between consenting participants. If at any time consent is revoked, or not obtained, it's rape. And it's wrong." He explains sternly.
T doesn't even nod. He just turns and walks to the door throwing it open as rain pelted against him and the door before he slams it shut behind him, clearly finished with their discussion.
"T." He calls out as he rushes to the door and pulls it open again, the boy's back blurring in the intense rain as he takes off. "I need you to know that you, and anyone who needs protection, is safe with me. Please remember that! And come back if you have any more questions. Open door!"
T doesn't respond, and he couldn't tell if it was due to not hearing because of the storm, because he was deep in thought, or both. Or maybe he had heard, but couldn't answer.
Yensid sighs as he closes the door. He stares at the locks before he slowly secures them.
That conversation was on a long list of topics he had always feared he'd one day have to discuss here.
Who was T worried about? Yensid shakes his head. Those responses could have been because he was stuck in something he couldn't free himself of, but he couldn't imagine T, the anti-hero of the isle, letting something like that continue. Not that he knew T well, and of course Hyades and Carlos would protect their friend's image, even from him if need be.
He could have responded like that because he witnessed something horrific. Perhaps one of those that T cared for was in a bad situation. And T just needed a name for it so he could address it.
No matter how he looked at the situation, someone was in trouble. The kind of trouble he couldn't turn his back on.
He looks down at the hand gripping the deadbolt, startled when he sees his bloodless knuckles.
He pulls his hand back, shaking it to return the flow of blood.
When he'd taken this role upon himself, he swore that he would remain objective and remember that these kids were the offspring of villains, meaning there wasn't much he could do for them.
But who was he trying to fool? He might have a reputation in Auradon as a ruthless knowledge seeker, but he was human. Older than he wanted to think about, but human none the less.
He hadn't meant to care so much for the ones that dared to approach him in their quest for understanding, but here he was. He cared. Cared for Carlos. For Hyades. For T. He'd even come to care for the others they cared about while he listened to them talk of their friends, or read what Hyades had written about them.
The thought that T was hurting, or knew something was wrong with Carlos or Hyades. He turns from the door but ends up leaning against it. How could he live with himself if he just sat back and let it continue?
But that lead him back to his younger self's proclamation; these were the children of Villians, what could he do besides offering them answers, no matter what the question was?
He looks around as lightning flares again, searching the familiar room as if the answer could jump out at him.
His eyes land on the first gift ever left on his desk, during his second year of teaching. His heart aches as he walks over to its place of honor on his bookshelves.
It had taken over a year for anyone to even trust him enough to openly talk to him in class. It had been Carlos who first volunteered to answer a question. The first hand to ever be raised in question that he openly invited.
The gift had been from Hyades of course, not that he'd known it right away. He smiles as he picks up the heavy glass art awkwardly shaped like a small dandelion.
A flower. On an isle full of suffering and evil intentions, that small girl found a delicate flower and wanted to craft art like it. Like she did with her words about the children she was forced to grow up with. She found the beauty here. Or perhaps she made it.
He frowns as he sets it back in place. How could the king, a man he had so much faith and hope invested in, ignore her letters? Ignore his letter about her? About all of them?
He sighs as he looks around the room again. He couldn't sit by any longer. These kids were suffering needlessly, that much he'd always known. Worse though was knowing, for a fact now rather than just a guess, they were being hurt and tortured for the entertainment of their parents, or another villainous adult that held power over them.
Rape. The word was as dirty as it sounded. It hadn't occurred to him that they would also have to deal with sexual abuse, his stomach turns, at least not at home. If his gut was right.
Yensid slams the side of his fist into the wall. Too long, this had gone on for too long! He was just going to have to demand a meeting with the king.
Raise your hand if you saw T going to Yensid for answers.
Intense right?
Did we do Yensid and T justice? The situation?
Were you happy we did this one from Yensid's perspective? We know we are. T's in a horrible headspace for hopefully understanding reasons.
What do you think of Yensid's intentions? Of his Younger self's proclamation that he wouldn't be able to get involved.
We know we're walking a tentative rope right now. On the other hand, it's been a long time coming. We know this type of shit can be triggering for a lot of people. However, we feel like bringing light to an issue that definitely needs it. Everything is one small step to open up dialogue.
And if you have experienced a trauma like this, please get help. Dark and I are huge supporters of mental health. It might seem scary at first, but talking to someone about it is the first step to getting your power back.
Even if you don't know what to say, or how to start, just get to a person trained to talk. They'll help you figure out the rest.
This story might not be full of metaphors, but we try to have these kids go through the wringer with actual issues. They have been raised by the worst of the worst.
How friggin' gross is Frollo by the way?
-Twisted and Dark-
