Dominique let out a soft groan as his eyes flickered open slowly when he awoke. At first he felt dazed and confused as to where he was while his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness. His head pounded as he lifted it up off the desk and his muscles felt stiff from the uncomfortable position he had been sleeping in. Still feeling groggy he thought he must have fallen asleep studying at his desk again. But as he looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings that's when his memories began to catch up with him.

Dominique shivered as the events from the day before replayed over and over in his mind. He groaned softly as his back still burned with pain from the whipping he'd endured at the hands of the two vampires holding him captive. He was at least grateful for the bandages Fane's slave had applied to the wounds to staunch the bleeding but it did little to ease the pain. His head throbbed and his stomach ached from hunger and thirst, and combined with the broken bones in his wrist from Lars' grip when he tried to run made him want to go back to sleep just to get a little relief from the pain.

As he looked down on the desk Dominique saw that the inkwell had spilled, staining a lot of the papers he had written with huge blots of ink, and he realized with a sinking heart that he would have to recopy several hours worth of work all over again. He had lost so much valuable time by sleeping, and now he would have to waste more time redoing it.

That was another thing. Fane gave him an order and he had fallen asleep. Fane had already had him beaten once; what would he do when he saw that almost half the work was ruined? Chills ran through Dominique and he looked around frantically, but to his relief the Count was nowhere in sight. His slave Damien however was cleaning nearby dusting books on the shelves. They made eye contact briefly but Dominique's ears folded when Damien immediately looked away. But somehow Dominique felt better not being completely alone.

Still, the thought of Fane walking in the door at any moment lurked in Dominique's mind, so he turned back to the stack of papers and the ancient book on the desk and slowly resumed his work of deciphering the contents of Azu Vithel. As he copied the text into English he found more spells for healing sicknesses and diseases, even major injuries. Despite the situation he was in, with medicine being Dominique's field of study he couldn't help becoming a little fascinated by what he was reading. The information inside this book could drastically change Mousedom. How could something this beneficial to the world be lost and kept secret for all these centuries? That was why Dominique had decided to become a doctor in the first place, to help those in need. He began to wonder just how many more lives could he save if he were able to actually use this knowledge in his own practice?

Dominique looked over at Damien. The wound on his arm, still deep and untreated, made memories of his time in the torture chamber flood his mind. Though at least he had gotten his own wounds cleaned; Damien had not and Dominique could see a small infection starting to settle in the slave's arm. With a heavy sigh Dominique turned back to his work. As Damien had told him before he wouldn't get medical help unless his Master ordered it. And there was no way Dominique would get any of the supplies he needed to help Damien either.

The words in front of him started settling in Dominique's head. These were spells and even Fane thought he was a witch. Could he really do it? Could he manage a healing spell? No, what was he thinking! He couldn't do that! He didn't want to. With generations in his family going insane because of magic, why take the risk? But there was something deep inside his head that urged him to try. A small voice. He couldn't understand any words, but it made him feel he should try. The spell was right in front of him…

A clattering noise from the other side of the room broke Dominique out of his thoughts. When he looked over at the source of the sound he saw that Damien had dropped a stack of books and clutched his arm wincing in pain. A second later however he hastily dropped to his knees and began gathering the books up again. The little voice inside his head started urging Dominique again. The spell was right there. He could do this.

Finally making up his mind Dominique stood and walked over to Damien. The slave glanced up nervously as Dominique knelt down beside him. "Here, let me see," Dominique said calmly, slowly reaching his hand out. Damien flinched but didn't resist and just froze in place, letting Dominique do what he wanted. As he took Damien's arm gently Dominique noticed him trembling. "It's ok," Dominique reassured him. "I just want to help."

Damien glanced up briefly before looking down at the floor again. He tried to make himself stop trembling as Dominique examined his arm but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop shaking. Dominique wasn't hurting him yet but Damien was so unused to a gentle touch that flinching was just his body's automatic response to touch. "Don't be afraid," Dominique said gently. "I'm not going to hurt you..."

Damien watched quietly and held very still as Dominique studied the wound. Without warning Dominique stumbled back to his chair, reading the spell again and again. If he was even going to try this he was making sure he knew the spell inside out. After studying the page for a few minutes until he had the spell memorized Dominique went back over to Damien and held his arm again. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to begin reciting the spell while his other hand hovered over the wound, but just as he was about to start that same fear gripped him causing him to hesitate. Again he recalled stories of witchcraft plaguing their family causing every third or fourth generation to become insane. His own mother had been proof of that. If he were to dabble in the dark arts now then what would prevent him from suffering the same fate?

While all these doubts flooded Dominique's mind that small voice seemed to echo in his thoughts again, reassuring him that it was ok and encouraging him to do it. What would it hurt to try? His intentions were for a good cause, not evil. He didn't care about power; he just wanted to help a fellow mouse. And besides, it was just one harmless spell. Despite what Fane said, it didn't make him a witch. It made him a doctor... with a slight advantage.

Feeling more determined now Dominique began to carefully recite the spell. Nothing happened right away and Dominique faltered a bit but kept going, focusing intently on what he was doing to ensure he didn't make any mistakes. A small energy seemed to flow through him as he sensed the little voice again. His fingertips were starting to tingle and for some reason Dominique felt more relaxed and he spoke the words with more confidence than when he first began. While he spoke the tingling sensation in his fingertips grew stronger, and soon the sinews of muscle and flesh of Damien's arm seemed to merge together as the wound slowly began to heal. A few moments later when Dominique finished he stared at Damien's arm. Just minutes ago the skin had been split open right down to the bone; and now not even a scar was left behind.

"It worked," Dominique breathed softly. A smile began to spread across his face and he even laughed in excitement. "It actually worked!" He beamed at Damien, who glanced back and forth from his arm to Dominique looking unsure of how to react. "Does it still hurt?" Dominique asked concernedly.

"No, Monsieur," Damien replied shaking his head.

"That's good," Dominique smiled relieved. He stared at his hands still half in shock. He had done that. He had healed someone just by speaking! Just thinking of how many lives could he save with this new skill made his head spin. That is, if he ever got out of this place.

That thought brought Dominique back to reality. As soon as Dominique had released Damien's arm the slave picked up the books he had dropped and resumed cleaning, so Dominique did the same and returned to his work at the desk. However after just a few minutes of staring at the worn pages of Azu Vithel the words seemed to blur and he rubbed his eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted. It was as if using the spell had just drained all of his energy. As time slowly dragged on the air felt heavier and heavier, and he grew restless sitting still in one place for so long.

Dominique took a deep breath and massaged his temples as his headache slowly became worse. He glanced up at Damien, who was still dusting the bookshelves. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" Dominique said with a friendly smile attempting to break the silence and make conversation. "Would be nice to go outside and get some fresh air."

Damien's ears lowered when he heard Dominique speak but he didn't respond and kept cleaning without even pausing. Dominique watched for a moment thinking he must just be nervous, but a few minutes later he sighed and looked out the window again realizing that Damien wasn't going to talk to him. He leaned back in the chair and began to stretch his muscles, until he heard a small clinking sound that reminded him his leg was still shackled to the desk. He wouldn't be going anywhere like this...

Unless Damien could release him, he thought glancing back at the slave. After what Lars and Fane did to him Dominique knew better than to try to run away, but if he could convince Damien to unchain him just for a little while maybe they could go for a short stroll to relax. Maybe it would even help Damien to open up more if they weren't stuck inside this dark and dreary place.

"Um, Damien? Is there any way you could take this chain off? I just want to walk around and stretch my legs a little..." Dominique looked up and saw that Damien had stopped cleaning and was frozen in place, but he still didn't answer. "We could take a walk together?" Dominique suggested with a small smile. "A change of scenery would do us both some good I think..." Dominique trailed off when Damien still remained silent and folded his ears. What was he thinking, asking Fane's slave to go against his master's orders? He had tried to run once already, that's why he was chained in the first place. Fane would never allow them to leave, and when he found out they would both be punished. Dominique began to wonder if he would ever see the outside world again.

"Is anyone here ever allowed to go outside the castle?" Dominique asked witha sigh.

"Only if Master orders it, Monsieur," Damien answered carefully.

Of course, Dominique should have known that would be answer. "What, does he have wolves out there or something?" Dominique asked half jokingly with a nervous chuckle.

"No, Monsieur. Gerrit is a fox," Damien replied matter-of-factly.

The smile instantly faded from Dominique's face as he stared at Damien. "What?"

"Gerrit is a fox, Monsieur," Damien repeated. Dominique's eyes widened at the thought of a wild fox prowling around outside the castle. Chills ran down his spine as he thought about his failed escape attempt earlier. If Lars hadn't caught him, the fox would have. Dominique ran a shaky hand through his hair as he took a deep breath. Vampires, torture chambers, a mouse-eating fox… Dominique didn't even want to think about what other horrible things lurked around this castle. The more he discovered the more he wanted to get away from this place and its insane Count.

No sooner had the thought entered his mind than Fane himself walked through the door. "Ferka, blană Gerrit are nevoie să fie periat" Fane said to Damien, who immediately stopped what he was doing and left the room. As Fane turned his attention to him Dominique hastily went back to work, hoping with all his might that Fane hadn't overheard any of that conversation. Fane gave a satisfied smirk before following Damien out of the room and shutting the door behind him, leaving Dominique alone again.

With a heavy sigh, Dominique turned back to his work. There was no reason to do otherwise, but he still felt like his mind needed a break as his head slowly started pounding again by the sheer sight of the letters. Damien's words were still ringing in his ears, as well as Fane's. Since they had spoken in Romanian, the only word he had understood was "Gerrit," which is what Damien had called the fox, so he wondered what in the world Fane had told Damien to do.

As so many questions swirled in his head Dominique nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a yelping noise and voices outside. He walked around the desk as far as the chain would reach and leaned toward the window trying to see what was going on. From his position he had a view of part of the castle grounds near the forest. Surprised he watched as Fane and Lars were standing close to a huge grey fox with white and black markings on its tail and muzzle. That must be Gerrit, Dominique thought as he watched, but what was happening didn't make any sense. Lars didn't look happy at all as he visibly groaned and waved the fox away. Fane on the other hand was quite amused by this. What shocked him the most was that neither of them seemed concerned about the fox attacking them; but then again neither did the fox seem interested in chasing them. Dominique stared as Gerrit jumped around Fane playfully, although Fane was very careful not to let him get too close as his fur coat was dirty and tangled. Damien held a brush and was trying to get close enough to brush his fur but each time he came near Gerrit would growl low. Fane shook his head and said something to Gerrit in a firm tone, and finally Gerrit sat still wagging his tail.

Damien dragged a ladder over to Gerrit and climbed it so he could reach, all the while with Gerrit growling and glaring at him with his ears folded back low. With his hand shaking Damien carefully brushed the fur on his back, but after only a few strokes Gerrit snapped his teeth at Damien and snarled. Lars snickered as Fane scolded Gerrit while Damien tried again. Damien froze as Gerrit bared his teeth and growled, and Fane once again reprimanded the fox and urged Damien to continue. However as soon as Damien touched the brush to his fur Gerrit swatted at Damien with his paw, knocking the ladder out from under him and causing Damien to crash to the ground. Lying on his back Damien looked up in terror as Gerrit looked ready to pounce on him.

Run, Damien, just run! Dominique screamed in his mind as he watched the scene unfolding. But Damien only laid there trembling and staring up at the fox. Why won't you run? Dominique thought to himself as he watched in confusion. Even if it was almost impossible to try to outrun a fox, why would Damien just lay there and not even try to get away? To Dominique's horror Gerrit suddenly sprang and a moment later had Damien in his mouth, snarling as he shook his head violently. Fane yelled angrily as Gerrit continued to "play" with Damien, swatting him with his paws and tossing him around like a toy, while Lars laughed in amusement when Gerrit wouldn't listen to and obey Fane. Dominique felt sick as Gerrit bit and chewed on Damien, whose screams and cries filled the air, but no matter how much he wanted it he couldn't tear his eyes away.

After a few minutes Gerrit seemed to tire of his games and trotted over to Fane, dropped Damien at his feet, then sat down almost seeming to smile while wagging his tail happily. Lars' laughter filled the air as Fane glared at Gerrit and screamed at Lars to shut up, and then stepped over Damien and stormed off into the castle. Gerrit tilted his head curiously but with Fane gone soon lost interest and bounded back into the forest. As soon as the fox was gone some servants came out and carried Damien's unconscious body back inside.

Dominique stumbled away from the window, his heart pounding in fright at what he had just witnessed. That fox had ripped into Damien without a second thought, but yet listened to Fane and even seemed to adore him. How could he have such control over a wild animal? What if Fane decided to let Gerrit play with him next?

Hearing footsteps coming down the hallway Dominique quickly went back to the desk and grabbed the quill pen and paper to keep working, but the sound passed by and to his relief no one entered the room. Still, Dominique continued working where he had left off just in case Fane decided to pay a visit to check his progress. He tried his best to focus on the words in front of him and translating the book but Dominique couldn't get Damien out of his mind. He had been practically mauled by Gerrit's teeth and claws; Dominique couldn't imagine what agonizing pain he must be going through. If he was even still alive...

That chilling thought made Dominique freeze. Since he had been there Damien was really the only one he'd had contact with besides Fane and Lars. Even if they hadn't spoken much Damien had been comforting company to this impossible situation. If Damien died, then he truly would be alone.

Dominique took a shaky breath and continued writing, making very slow progress with his thoughts distracted by Damien and the horrors he had just witnessed. The hours dragged by and Dominique groaned and massaged his temples as his headache only became worse. His eyes became strained from reading and his broken wrist ached from writing so much for hours on end. He looked bleakly at the little stack of papers he had copied, his heart sinking as he saw how little he had actually managed to accomplish. What should have been a simple task was turning into a huge project, and at this rate it would take him weeks, maybe even months to finish.

While all these worries plagued his mind Dominique looked up at the sound of the door opening and was surprised to see Damien stumble into the room and resume cleaning as if nothing had happened. Dominique stared at the fresh wounds covering his body. After what he had just been through he shouldn't even be standing! Dominique watched in shock for a few minutes as Damien struggled and finally spoke up.

"Are you ok?" Damien glanced at him tiredly. "After what that fox did to you, you should be resting," he clarified looking at Damien with concern.

"Gerrit likes to play, Monsieur," Damien replied carefully. Dominique felt another chill run through him, horrified that this was just another regular occurrence for the slave. Dominique sighed as his eyes fell on Damien's wounds again and he stood up and walked over to him to treat the wounds. He couldn't just sit there and let Damien suffer.

As Dominique studied the cuts and bruises the thought entered his mind to try healing him with magic again. He hesitated as before but that same whispering voice he'd sensed before seemed to encourage him again. Damien was in obvious pain so how heartless would it be to just sit there when he had the means to help him?

Seeing that Damien was swaying slightly Dominique rushed over to Damien and caught him just as he was about to fall. Supporting Damien with one arm and holding his other hand over the wounds Dominique once again repeated the healing spell for each cut and bruise. Damien winced in pain at times but didn't pull away or protest, letting Dominique do what he wanted. Dominique became more confident as time went on and since he had the spell memorized by this point he could do the task much easier and faster now. However, with each wound healed Dominique felt drained of more and more energy, and after some time he slumped back against the wall suddenly exhausted. Damien glanced at him worried that he had done something wrong but Dominique smiled a little.

"I guess this magic thing has limits," Dominique said tiredly, looking down at his hands. He supposed it made sense though, if he used energy to create the spell then naturally it would drain his strength as if he'd done physical work. Still, it was an unfortunate setback that he'd have to be more careful about. He didn't want to think about what would happen if Fane noticed him slacking because his strength was gone.

As he rested against the wall Dominique looked around and noticed what Damien had been cleaning. His head still felt a bit dazed from all the reading, translating, and the magic he had done, so going back to Azu Vithel wasn't even an option at the moment as nothing would get done. But maybe doing a simple task as dusting the shelves was just the break he needed to let his mind rest. If he couldn't heal all the wounds he could at least help Damien by cleaning with him so Fane would be happy the job got done.

Damien paused and looked up confused when Dominique took one of the rags and began dusting the books on the shelves. Dominique felt Damien staring at him and smiled.

"It will get done faster if the two of us work together, right?" Dominique said cheerfully.

"Oui, Monsieur," Damien answered automatically, not questioning him. A few minutes passed as they cleaned and when Dominique finished cleaning one shelf and began to replace the books back Damien's ears lowered. He looked like he wanted to say something but didn't want to speak out of turn.

Dominique noticed him staring and looked concerned. "Something wrong?"

To answer Damien walked over and removed the last book Dominique had replaced and put it in another spot on the shelf. "M-Master likes his books in a certain order, Monsieur," Damien explained quietly. "I-I'm sorry, Monsieur."

"No it's ok," Dominique said softly, still smiling a little to show he wasn't angry. "Thank you for telling me. I'll just have to be more careful." Damien glanced at him for a moment before turning back to his spot to continue cleaning. Dominique sighed a little to himself. He had wanted to help but it seemed like he only made Damien more nervous. But he tried to remain optimistic. Maybe the more time they spent together the more Damien would warm up to him.

After cleaning the dust from the rest of the shelf, Dominique went to replace a few more books in their spot. He looked back and forth between each one trying to remember where he had gotten them but couldn't remember exactly what order they went in. "Um, Damien? Can you tell me where Les Misérables belongs on the shelf?" he asked sheepishly. Damien looked at him confused and just stared, nervously. "This one?" Dominique clarified, holding the book up so Damien could see the cover. Damien nodded quickly and pointed to the spot where the book belonged. Dominique looked at the book and back at Damien as a thought occurred to him. "Damien… can't you read?"

"N-No, Monsieur," Damien answered.

Dominique stared at him in shock and his ears folded sadly. He'd never met anyone, who couldn't read. Even children had at least a little knowledge of the alphabet. It only made him wonder more about Damien's past, why hadn't he ever learned how to read? Had no one taught him, even as a child? And knowing that he couldn't read made the fact that Damien had the contents of Fane's library mostly memorized an even greater feat in itself.

The minutes dragged on as they continued tidying up the library. Dominique was much more careful of keeping the books in the correct order, although he did have to ask for Damien's help a couple more times just to be sure. But the task helped his mind relax somewhat by doing less mental work and the little physical exercise was good for stretching his cramped muscles after sitting at that desk for so long. The chain around his ankle did limit his mobility but he was happy to do something other than translate for a while. In fact Dominique became so focused on what he was doing that he didn't even hear the door open behind him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Dominique's heart nearly leapt into his throat at hearing Fane's growling voice. He slowly turned around and fidgeted with his hands nervously. "I… I-I was just-"

"You were just what?!" Fane snapped. "I gave you an order!"

"I-I just needed a little break," Dominique hastily tried to explain. "I thought I could be useful in some other way while my brain rested from all that translating…"

Fane just stared at Dominique as he kept rambling nervously trying to make up excuses. The vampire had had it with this witch. All he did was make excuses and slipping his work. Was it so hard to understand and follow a simple order as this. Translate the book. That was all Fane had ordered him to do. Nothing more, and yet that seemed to be the most difficult task this witch has ever had! How on earth had this mouse become a medical student? Not to mention one of the best in his class. It was far beyond what Fane could think, but then the Count noticed how his slave glanced at Dominique. Had Dominique been talking with Damien? A slight movement from Damien was all Fane needed to know as his red eyes fell back on the rambling witch with a smirk.

Dominique's eyes lowered when he saw Fane's expression and he slowly backed up towards the desk again. "B-But I'm sorry, Count. I'll get back to work-"

"No."

Dominique flinched at the sound of Fane's voice cutting him off short and stopped dead in his tracks. "N-No?"

"No," Fane repeated. Dominique watched confused as Fane reached inside his vest pocket and removed a key and held it out toward Damien. The slave instantly took the key, dropping to his knees at Dominique's feet and removing the chain around his ankle. Dominique blinked as it all happened within a matter of seconds and not a word had been spoken. Damien was so used to being Fane's slave that he even knew his master's unspoken commands. Each time they interacted together Dominique gained just a glimpse of their relationship, and it only raised more questions.

"Come with me," Fane ordered, snapping Dominique out of his thoughts. "I have another task for you."

"Yes Count," Dominique answered quietly, feeling very nervous and confused. Fane had been so insistent about him translating Azu Vithel, so why would he want him to stop now? But Dominique wouldn't dare question Fane's motives so he just followed silently. As they reached the door Fane snapped his fingers and Dominique turned as he heard Damien rushing after them. As they walked through the halls Dominique glanced back and forth between the two wondering more and more about their history together. It was obvious that Fane practically had Damien wrapped around his finger and that the slave would do anything for his Master, even if it caused Damien to hurt himself in the process. Exactly how long had Damien been a slave?

All these thoughts were pushed aside when Dominique began to recognize surroundings as they walked and realized with a sinking heart that they were headed back down to the dungeons. As they passed each dark cell Dominique hoped with all his might that they weren't going back to that awful place but sure enough soon Fane was pushing him inside the room where he had been tortured before.

Dominique's mind raced as he stood in the middle of the room. What was Fane going to do to him this time? He couldn't help trembling but tried to look as brave as he could, although he knew he was failing as Fane chuckled at him. The Count said something but as he spoke it in Romanian Dominique didn't understand, nor did he really care. The only thing on his mind was all the torture devices hanging around and the awful stench he remembered too well. He nearly didn't notice that Damien knelt down before him as he was close to hyperventilating out of pure horror. However, Dominique was pulled out of his thoughts when Fane harshly shoved the whip Lars had used before into his hands.

"Punish him." The vampire's voice was calm as ice as Dominique looked down at the whip in his hands. What had just happened? With a few deep breaths he finally managed to glance over at the Count.

"What...?"

"Punish him. The slave has been disobedient and you shall punish him."

Dominique stared at Fane in disbelief. "W-What?! Why me?!"

"You wanted to help; now punish the slave for his disobedience."

"N-No… No, I-I can't do this-!"

Fane grabbed Dominique's collar and yanked him closer. "You will whip him bloody or I will whip you until you can no longer walk. Is that clear?!" With a slight push the Count let go of Dominique, who nearly lost his balance at the force. Dominique gripped the whip tightly in his hands and gazed down at the trembling mouse in front of him. He had to do this. The pain in his back was searing through his wounds and in the back of his head Dominique could hear the crack of the whip. As much as he didn't want to hurt Damien, Dominique was scared. Petrified even. He knew the Count wouldn't hesitate to make good on his threat and Dominique had already been on the receiving side of the whip before. Neither his body or his mind could go through another round. As wrong as it felt, it was him or Damien. Flashbacks of the pain and horror Dominique felt stormed his mind. He had to do it. He couldn't go through it again. With almost a haze in his eyes, Dominique gripped the whip tighter and got ready to hit. His mind fogged and his hand seemed to have a life of its own as he lifted his arm and struck down at Damien's back. With the first blow Dominique didn't even touch Damien and the whip didn't give the slightest crack. Pure dread filled Dominique. When he finally had managed to make himself do the deed, nothing had come out of it.

"You do realize I am an impatient mouse?" Fane hissed and Dominique flinched at the tone. With trembling hands Dominique lifted the whip once more, ready to strike again. He had to hit Damien this time; Fane would not stand for another miss. Using all his strength, Dominique brought the whip down. In the momentum he had closed his eyes, but they shot open when he heard Damien let out a small cry and a sob. There was no blood, but he knew the whip had struck him. Dominique began breathing raggedly as he was frozen in place, listening to Damien's whimpering. How could he do this to a fellow mouse? He knew the pain all too well. But that was what made Dominique go through with this in the first place. That unbearable pain of the whip against his back was so clear in his mind and it scared him more than anything. Dominique never wanted to feel that pain again, so he brought the whip over his head a third time and again he used all his might to strike Damien.

Hearing Damien sob after each blow broke Dominique's heart. Fane had ordered him to whip the slave bloody, and although Dominique had tried, even now after several hits there wasn't a scratch on Damien, only a few bruises and red marks. As he heard the Count sigh, Dominique felt chills run down his spine. "I-I'm trying…" he whispered fearfully.

"That I have seen," Fane remarked unimpressed as he grabbed the whip from Dominique's hands. A world of terror stormed Dominique as he was sure Fane would whip him now for not being able to make Damien bleed. "You need more force in the last part of your hit, rather than the first." Fane cracked the whip down on Damien's back with ease, leaving a long gash from the shoulder to the hem of his pants. Damien arched his back and cried out in pain much louder than before and trembled on the floor. Dominique stared horrified as blood slowly seeped out of the fresh wound, and Fane casually put the whip back in Dominique's hand as if this were an everyday occurrence. With deep breaths Dominique tightened his grip around the handle of the whip as he made himself strike Damien again. This time he used the technique Fane had told him, and although it was still not as strong as Fane's it was enough to cause Damien to scream again as more blood flowed from the new cut.

After giving few more strikes Dominique froze suddenly as his own words echoed in his brain. "Don't be afraid... I'm not going to hurt you..." He had said he would never harm Damien yet here he was breaking that very promise. Dominique began to breathe harder as he stared at the red blood running down Damien's back and staining his fur and shirt. That same blood coating the whip in his hands and dripping onto the floor at his feet…

Feeling overwhelmed by guilt Dominique dropped the whip and fell to his hands and knees. He hung his head feeling tears sting his eyes and fall to the floor as he squeezed his eyes shut, unable to even look at Damien anymore and see the damage he had done. "P-Please," he begged Fane quietly, "don't make me do this. He didn't do anything to deserve this."

Fane rolled his eyes as he watched Dominique break down. "I don't understand why it is so difficult for you to obey the simplest orders," Fane said with an irritated sigh. "This really disappoints me. If you had done as I said and translated the book as instructed instead of making up excuses then none of this would have happened. And now since you continue disobeying me, you are only causing more pain to both yourself and others. Can't you see what you have done?" Dominique looked up as Fane gestured at Damien cringing on the floor and felt his heart breaking. This was all his fault. It was his fault Damien was suffering. Damien was in pain. By his hand. He had caused this.

Dominique flinched in fear as Fane picked up the whip, thinking that now he would be whipped as well. As Fane raised the whip he trembled more and braced himself, but instead of feeling the painful lash break his skin as he had felt before at the harsh crack of the whip, Dominique heard a horrifying shriek from his side. His eyes snapped open as he realized the blow had fell on Damien. He flinched again as Fane brought the whip down hard across Damien's back, making the slave almost jump at the force. "W-Wait, please s-stop!" Dominique cried out, but his pleas were drowned out by the crack of the whip and Damien's screams.

Fane's eyes were cold and hard and his tone grew more firm as he emphasized each word with another strike. "This is what happens when you disobey, witch. Take a good look at what you have caused." Dominique flinched at each strike that landed on Damien and finally couldn't watch anymore. With tears still flowing he held his head in his hands as Damien's screams rang in his ears.

After what seemed like hours Fane threw the whip at Damien once he was done. "Nettoyer," Fane snapped before grabbing Dominique by the arm and jerking him off the floor and half dragging him out the door. He had given the order in French so Dominique understood that he had told Damien to clean up. As he was dragged out Dominique looked over his shoulder and saw even in such a weakened condition Damien slowly and painfully pull himself up on his elbows trying to get up to follow Fane's order. In the back of his mind Dominique wondered why Fane had given the order in French as opposed to Romanian as he normally spoke to Damien. He must've wanted me to understand. It was the only reason Dominique could think of. Fane wanted him to see that if his slave was expected to still follow orders even after such a severe beating then Dominique had no excuse not to obey Fane's orders as well. His thoughts were confirmed when Fane dragged him back to the study and pretty much shoved him towards the desk. Fane didn't have to tell him what he wanted, Dominique knew he was expected to continue translating Azu Vithul no matter what had just happened. So Dominique painfully picked himself up and sat back down at the desk. Fane gave a satisfied smirk as he watched the young mouse nervously pick up the quill pen and resume translating where he had left off. It had taken a while but it looked like the witch was finally learning his place. After watching for a moment Fane left the room to attend to other things.

With Fane gone Dominique could breathe a little easier but he still trembled from what he had just witnessed, and as he worked he tried desperately to get Damien out of his mind. What he had done to that poor mouse was about as unbearable as the pain itself. Now Dominique almost wished it had been him that was whipped instead of Damien. Shaking his head once again, Dominique tried to concentrate on the work ahead of him. The words on the pages became blurry. The meaning of the language disappeared in front of his eyes. With a low frustrating growl Dominique put the quill back in its place and slammed his fists onto the desk. Pain shot through his wrist, but for once Dominique embraced the pain. He deserved it after what had done. Damien would never trust him again, and why should he? The guilt was eating away at Dominique and he felt like breaking down once again. New tears were threatening to fall, but he quickly wiped them away and turned back to his work when he heard the doors open.

Glancing over his shoulder nervously Dominique expected to see Fane walking in to check on his progress, but instead his eyes fell on Damien. The quill pen slipped from Dominique's hand as he straightened up, still staring at Damien in disbelief. The slave looked beyond dazed as he tiredly stumbled his way towards Dominique. His eyes were drooping, he was panting heavily and Dominique could see he winced in pain with every other step. How was he even still standing after the torture he'd been through? It wasn't until the tray made contact with the desk that Dominique noticed the food Damien had brought in. At the sight of food Dominique realized just how hungry he was as Fane never fed him much more than the very minimum a day, which always kept him hungry. But Dominique pushed his hunger away as his gaze fell on Damien once again. The slave slid down to his knees and leaned with his shoulder against the desk to avoid getting any blood from his back on the furniture, ready to pass out any second due to the pain he was in. Dominique reached out a hand as if to help him, but froze when the movement caused Damien to flinch away from him. More guilt flooded Dominique as he realized that Damien was actually scared of him. But, with all the pain he had caused him, why wouldn't he be?

"D-Damien…" Dominique started, wanting to apologize, but seeing that Damien didn't even react to his own name it seemed like a waste of time. With a sad sigh Dominique turned back to his food. Damien wasn't able to concentrate enough to hear him and Dominique knew if Fane would walk in it would be much worse if he did nothing but stare. Reluctantly Dominique took a bite of his food. It didn't taste any good, despite the fact that he was starving. He had to force himself to swallow the dry bread. His appetite had just disappeared in thin air. The food he cherished the other day was nothing more than an obligation he had to fulfill now. Staring at the bread he debated giving it to Damien, but then again, look what had happened the last time Dominique tried to help.

After a few long minutes of silence Damien let out a soft groan. Dominique looked again and saw Damien wincing in pain as he slowly pulled off his shirt and began to try to mend the tears in the cloth. Dominique watched horrified when Damien swayed as he threaded the needle through the cloth, and sometimes when he tried to pull the needle through to make the stitch Damien would miss or even drop the needle and thread altogether. His fingers were trembling so badly that he kept poking his fingertips with the needle, which only drew more blood. However, the sight of how Damien struggled wasn't close to as horrifying as Damien's body itself. Dominique could literally count his ribs and the bones in his spine as they stuck out. He might as well have been looking at a skeleton, like they had in his classroom at the university, which only emphasized the severeness of Damien's wounds. Dominique became more alarmed when he could already see inflamed flesh around the cuts showing that they were becoming infected. That did it for him. Even if Damien was scared of him Dominique knew he had to get those cuts treated or Damien would only be in worse pain later on, not to mention the infection could possibly kill him.

Just as Dominique was about to get out of the chair to help Damien, the door opened and Fane entered the room. Damien immediately pulled the shirt, painfully, back on and pulled himself up. He grabbed the tray on the table and started walking, although after taking only a few steps the pain and exhaustion took over and Damien collapsed to the floor. Fane rolled his eyes irritably but looked surprised when Dominique stood up from his chair.

"Let me treat his wounds… please," Dominique asked quietly.

Fane couldn't resist smirking at Dominique. "You think that will ease your guilt? That it will make up for the pain you put him through?"

Dominique's ears lowered at that and he felt more tears threaten to spill. "Please, just let me do it," he begged. "He won't be any good to you like this… And it will only get worse."

Looking down at his slave Fane groaned as he realized Dominique actually had a point. "Fine. But make it quick," he snapped.

As soon as the words left his mouth Dominique rushed to Damien's side. He carefully lifted the shirt in order to get better access to the wounds. "I need a clean cloth and some water," Dominique stated as his instincts took over. "And bandages…" He froze when he realized what he'd said and nervously looked up into Fane's angry blood red eyes. "Please," he added fearfully. Fane glared for a moment more before storming to the door. Dominique heard him barking orders to some servants out in the hallway, and a few minutes later they came back with the items he had asked for. Dominique dipped the cloth into the water and gently began to clean the cuts. "What kind of medicine do you have here?" he asked Fane. "An antibiotic would get rid of the infection, and if you have some kind of ointment it would sooth the pain."

The vampire scowled but he rapped out more orders for the servants to go and fetch the things. Fane crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently as he watched Dominique work on Damien, hating the fact that he was using his resources on his slave of all things.

Fane watched closely as he noticed Dominique appeared to be deep in thought. His lips were moving as he silently recited something while his hand hovered just above one of the cuts on Damien's back. What was he doing? At first nothing happened, but then Fane became astonished when the gash seemed to slowly close up before finally disappearing altogether. Dominique felt Fane's eyes on him and lowered his ears. "It's a spell I learned from Azu Vithel," he explained quietly. "I tried it once before, but it was only for one wound. Casting a spell requires energy, and I don't think I have the strength or power to heal all of this; at least not all at once..."

He had tried this before? Fane thought to himself. Well that explained Damien's reactions to Dominique earlier before he was whipped. The witch must have healed him once already and was trying to bond with the slave, which also explained why Dominique had been so upset over being forced to whip him. Fane was a little annoyed that Dominique had kept the little secret of practicing magic hidden from him, but at least this was solid confirmation that Dominique was in fact a real witch.

"I'm sure it will become easier with more experience," Fane remarked. "In fact, use him as practice…" After waving his servants away Fane suddenly kicked Damien closer to Dominique. "After all, he can easily be wounded again," Fane smirked. "Both of us can make that happen."

...


Author's Notes:

This was a hard chapter to write. Especially the whipping scene D:
But thankfully Anne has been extremely helpful (that doesn't even begin to describe it) with helping me write this. Damien is hers so I've been consulting with her a LOT with this fic but she's pretty much co-author now ^^ 3

I think there will be one final chapter to this story. Then will come "Echoes of the Past" 8D

Damien Ferka Sorena (c)mimmime
Gerrit the fox and Lars Maurus (c)NightMagican
Dominique Flagrantia and Fane cel Rau (c)Me