BREAK [in reference to slavery:

To break the spirit of a slave is to render the slave less rebellious or stubborn especially in the circumstance that the slave is challenging higher authorities. There are various methods in which to go about this.

Chapter 2-

No deal

The first sound that awakened the brunet to consciousness was the steady rhythm of pen on paper from nearby. A shooting pain in his neck as he shifted soon brought him to full alert. Groaning a little in pain and a slight disorientation he managed to find the source of the noise. His highness Prince Cloud sat not far away at an ornate desk, shooting him subtle glances every now and then as his pen flew across the paper with speed and precision.

"You're awake," was the simple statement; as the Prince finished the last sentence with a last flourish, rising immediately, "About time."

Squall too rose, not to be caught in a position more vulnerable than he already was in. It wasn't until the blanket had fallen off him that he noticed its presence, but as flustered as he was at that moment with the blond's full attention on him, he just hastily shoved it onto the couch. The brunet would figure out where it had come from when he didn't have more pressing issues at hand.

Such as the rapidly approaching older man.

"I do believe this is the first time we've met formally, Squall."

The slave flinched, "Its Leon."

One delicate eyebrow rose, "I could have sworn it was Squall Leonheart."

"Squall Leonheart was a man who died with the takeover of his world."

The Prince didn't seem phased at all by this remark, "No I prefer Squall; it suits you better."

Excuse me? Didn't he just say he didn't want to be called Squall? The arrogance radiating off his man was phenomenal… he'd been right about first appearances. You should never trust the image put to you.

The brunet opened his mouth to argue back but the Prince gave him a look that clearly said 'don't dare answer back', to which he gave a glare in reply. Certainly a challenge in power, and by the flicker of surprise in bright glowing blue eyes, a challenge to his authority over his slave that the Prince had not been expecting. It soon became apparent to both parties than neither was planning to back down without a fight.

If it was a struggle he wanted it would be a struggle he got, thought Cloud as he studied the defensive brunet before him. "Believe me Squall, if you dare step out of line I will not hesitate to hand you over to the guards for a beating-"

"You wouldn't dare-"

"I would. And believe me when I say that is only the start of my arsenal, believe me that if I have to fight to break your spirit slave, I will." There was a cold harshness in his eyes that Squall could not deny would allow such a thing to happen and for once in his life, faced with inevitable odds he backed down ever so slightly. But the damage to his pride was already done- in that small moment laid the first victory of the Prince, along with the refusal to call Squall by Leon; it was leverage for a foundation which somehow the Commander did not want to know what would be built upon it.

"Now Squall, there is a function I must attend today for which we are already late. You will be at all times at my beck and call, understood?"

As they left the lavish quarters what Cloud did not show was his internal tearing himself up over how cruel he had acted, how out of character… he almost felt as if part of it had been him rising to the challenge of a fellow warrior rather than the façade that he wore. That scared him because he had hoped never to be that ruthless, as a friend or ruler.

The soon arrived at the other side of the palace where a set of doors were flung eagerly open at their arrival.

"Cloud!" a brown blur yelled barreling into the Prince's chest. "You came!"

"Why wouldn't I come?"

"I think what Sora is trying to say," said the boy's blond twin "Is that you have been really busy lately."

"And we were worried." Two pairs of eyes of the brightest blue looked up at the blond innocently and the Prince found himself almost laughing. He scruffled the spikes of the closest head, which happened to belong to the slightly older, by a few minutes Sora would add, twin. Both looked remarkably similar, almost the same height, with the same spiked messy hair that befell both their older brothers. However where Roxas' hair was blond and roughly styled to one side; Sora's hair was a light brown and all over the place.

"I can't stay away too long… I love you guys too much."

"Sure you do," Roxas proclaimed batting the hand away, before noticing for the first time the lurker behind his older brother, "And this must be Squall."

"Leonheart, I would like you to meet my younger brothers Sora and Roxas."

A look from Cloud over the heads of the pair told Squall expressly to show some respect and hesitantly the brunet obeyed bowing lightly to the youngest Princes of the Strife household. Both eyed him with looks which looked openly innocent but they exchanged looks in a way which seemed mischievous in the least. Unlike any of Cloud's smirks it seemed much more innocent in nature and Squall found himself wondering if he should be on the guard for pranks for a while.

But instead of saying anything to the slave, it was his brother that Roxas addressed first, "Lord Axel has just arrived back from Healin Manor, and he has a message for you, apparently." There was a certain disdain in the blond's voice when he mentioned the Lord by name, foreshadowing the annoyance that the redhead caused him by his presence.

Cloud however smiled sadly and lost in thought walked through the doors brushing his brunet slave off to magnetize to the mess of red hair that Squall presumed was Lord Axel in the far corner of the opulent entertainment room. The atmosphere around was actually rather sociable, a group of apparent friends gathering together for a completely informal meeting it seemed.

Luckily the Commander was not alone for long, as though he seemed invisible to the eyes of the larger group, a friendly face picked him out.

"Squ… uh… Leon," Zell hissed from where he stood, wine and goblets in hand, off to one side of the room. The SeeD had never been happier to see his tattooed friend, and quickly moved to talk to him, which was strange enough for the stoic brunet in the first place.

"Hey," Zell whispered, "How are you? The Prince hasn't tried anything has he? What-"

"I'm fine," Squall sighed biting his lip, "He hasn't tried anything other than to intimidate and threaten just in case I am disobedient… mainly because I've been challenging his authority."

Zell seemed satisfied with this answer for the moment, before launching of into the tale of what had happened to him since they had parted, it was fairly standard- he had been serving at the Prince's birthday banquet. Mainly wine, because he had been deemed strong enough to resist giving out the liquor to people were already inebriated and violent. Which, he discovered very early was one of the dangers of the job- his clever refusal to one Duke had apparently caught the kings eye and managed a laugh.

The blond had no idea if that was a good thing or not but, according to some of the serving girls who had taken it upon themselves to teach him the social necessities of palace life, it was brilliant.

Squall listened desperate for some normality apart from the mixed up morning he had been subjected to, but at the mention of palace hierarchy he found himself wondering about the Prince's sudden change in demeanor.

"Who is that man the Prince is talking to?"

The fighter beamed finally able to show what he had learnt, "Lord Axel Sinclair, brother of the Lord Reno Sinclair, who is set to become the Duke of Healin once their father dies. That's not the interesting part though: Reno and Prince Cloud used to be lovers."

The brunet looked at him with disbelieving stormy-grey eyes, "Really? What happened?"

"Yeah, apparently the rumors say that his father is a homophobe, which is practically unheard of in this kingdom and disagreed with the relationship forcing Reno to marry the Lady Elena even though he was in love with Cloud. Reno's been forbidden to see him and Cloud apparently hasn't been the same ever since… but then again that's just the rumor. The father's real excuse is that he wanted heirs to carry on the bloodline which is utterly laughable."

"… … Why?"

"Because you heard Tifa earlier- the King's great grandfather was a male slave, and from what I've heard when she said male slave she meant that the King's grandfather was born to a male… they have some ancient magic which allows for that to happen for the continuance of the Royal line."

The stoic brunet raised an eyebrow, "There is no way that is possible"

"It's possible, believe me."

"Hn"

Is this what you meant? I am to be a comforter for a man who has lost his love?

Sorry Zack, I won't be used like that, I'm a human being not someone's toy to be simply used for pleasure and the wiping away of sad memories. If I were to give myself up for someone it would be for the return of my trust and love.

No deal.

"…apart from that he's doing well, considering," the redhead finished smiling sadly at Cloud, "I wish I could say he's brilliant but he's still pining no matter how much he may write that he wants you to move on for his sake."

"I got that," bright glowing blue eyes stared down at the letter in his hand, one of the few ways that he could still keep in contact with his ex-lover. "On another note," he smiled smugly, "How are things going with Roxas?"

Axel opened his mouth and then closed it sharply, "He hates me."

"If you would antagonize him less- "

"I don't antagonize him! I simply express my feelings in a more constructive way than most."

"Here's a hint: Try something a little more subtle, though I doubt you know what subtle is. If it helps Roxas has been begging for ages after a dog. You might just make his day."

"Is this your way of saying you approve then?"

"We'll see."

A small smile managed to work its way onto the pyromaniac's face as Cloud walked into the midst of people seating himself on a couch. Flawlessly the Prince jumped into a conversation between the Countess Yuffie, Lord Riku and Sora; until he found himself trying to search out his brunet slave. It had come to light that he had neglected to tell the man what he was doing. Blue eyes swept the room expecting to find Squall lurking in a corner or perhaps not to find him at all the slave having taken his distraction as a perfect time for an escape attempt. Preferably lurking a corner however because the blond really did not want to have to co ordinate a search and capture party, he'd rather stay here and spend what little free time he had with friends.

To his irritation Leonheart was easily spotted talking to a fellow slave off to one side, the distinctive tattoo of the other man clearly showing him to one of the other SeeDs that Zack had bought. This was exceptionally bad for any plans he had for brunet. He was not supposed to have close contact with anyone outside of him and an occasional stranger. Part of the process that he had been taught to break slaves was being hindered the longer he was allowed to talk to a friendly face.

Now to seperate them.

"Squall, over here and bring some of that wine with you."

The brunet flinched at the use of his discarded name, and looked desperately at Zell to be saved. The blond shook his head and handed him the bottle and a glass from the tray. "He is not going to take it from anyone but you."

Squall shot a glare at Cloud who simply returned is passively with little to no effort before snatching the glass and bottle from his comrade's hands. Gritting his teeth he forced himself to walk over to his smirking 'master' setting both items down on the small table which sat next to the couch on which the Prince lounged.

"Pour me a glass." The slave could practically feel the pride draining from his as he was publically ordered about and forced to submit to Cloud. Every eye in the room was watching, he could feel their gaze burning into his back and his hands shook with barely suppressed anger as he poured the blood red wine into the simple gold rimmed wineglass.

He presented it using both hands to try and decrease the shaking involved. Instead of simply plucking it from his hands, Cloud covered Squall's with his own to draw him closer with the glass as he drank. The poor brunet wasn't sure whether to be repulsed or intrigued, the strange attraction he had to the man barely suppressed under his hate and rage over his treatment.

As he finished the SeeD commander drew back sharply only to be caught by the wrist as the Prince whispered in his ear until he could feel the breath on his ear intoxicatingly close, "If you will not submit, I will make you." Another threat.

"You are to stay here."

The slave had no other choice than allow himself to be seated on the floor in front of the cerulean eyed Prince, who took it with great delight, making sure that every time he moved he gently and teasingly brushed past causing the forcibly submissive male to shiver. The blond soon found the most vulnerable point after a few minutes, one which was situated right between his shoulder blades.

The younger male shot a helpless look at Zell who simply sent him a sympathetic look back. He knew that Zell couldn't help him but he wasn't about to give in to a bunch of people who viewed him as a possession. He was merely property to any of them with no value as a human being… that much grew obvious by the way that he was simply ignored like he and all the other slaves in the palace, were pieces of furniture. He also wouldn't put it past his blond Prince to harm Zell if he tried to help his personal slave in any way, and Squall couldn't bare that. He was one thing his friends another. Even though he had talked with the tattooed SeeD now he still believed that Zell should be embracing the good laughs he had heard about it with the serving girls rather than worry about his former Commander.

While the brunet was deep in thought and doing his best to ignore the Prince, Cloud made himself meet the eyes of the man the slave that Squall had spoken to earlier, the other blond complying easily in a way that showed that he more than Squall had accepted his place in the state of things. With one sharp possessive look he issued a non-verbal order, which he poured into the want for the slave to remove himself.

Zell got the idea very quickly and nodded slightly to the Prince and Squall, leaving quietly. Prince Cloud would undeniably assign him elsewhere if he wanted him to stay away from his friend, for now however he would return to the kitchens.

The brunet soon noticed the absence of his friend and Cloud who had his hand resting on his shoulders could feel the dejected slump beneath his fingers.

'One more thing down,' was the inward sigh of the blond, running one hand through his blond spikes, 'And many more to go.'

Thanks again to all who have reviewed this story or even read it,it's been really great to see so much interest.

There is actually some historical background to the methods used in times past to 'break' slaves in, I will warn that this will be quite psychologically damaging to our hero. Stay tuned.