AN: I just had to continue to work on this story after the last chapter, so maybe this will also be updated quicker than expected!
-A Day Later-
Annnnd it has been! Woo! Go me! -bags under eyes- (e_e)
Hopefully, what aspects I didn't write about, I made up in length. 6,400+ words! Raise the roof. Get ready for some feels!
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Ethan came to slowly, groaning as he felt a slight pain in his stomach, and a dizziness in his head. For a second, he wondered he was gonna throw up or not.
Nope, not yet.
"Ugh.." Ethan breathe deeply, and opened his eyes reluctantly, wondering if he'd died and gone to heaven or hell. Either way, it was comfortable...really comfortable. But he thought you couldn't get sick in heaven..?
"You're awake."
Ethan startled, looking across what he realized was his bed, to where a raven haired vampire sat on his window seat. Suddenly downcast, Ethan questioned when exactly he'd started to conside this room his...or when he began to think of Jesse as beautiful. Slowly, he shook his head and closed his eyes again. He didn't want to wake up.
"No..." Ethan answered, voice raspy and stubborn. "I don't want to wake up."
"Typical." Jesse sighed as he got up from his seat and Ethan's eyes cracked open to watch him warily. As it turned out, all Jesse wanted was the book lying on the bedside table. He held it up for Ethan to see, and was confused to see that it was a grand copy of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.
"I didn't know you read." Jesse teased with a smirk, and began to flip randomly through the pages. "I have to admit, it wasn't as lame as I expected. I don't often bother with human literature anymore- the last great authors died off during the 1800's. Though Stephan King's books are something I can stand now and again. Their funny."
"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe...Narnia..." Ethan mused and settled more firmly into his pillows as he realized he wasn't going to go back to sleep anytime soon. "I didn't bring that book in here."
"No, I did." Jesse shot him a look that was half amused and half annoyed. "After your late night escapade to the library and our reading session, I gave the series a read myself. It wasn't so bad."
"What escapade? You mean, the..." Ethan sat upright in bed and Jesse eyed him carefully. "Luc..."
"He's resting up as well." Was it just his grogginess playing tricks on him, or did Jesse appear a bit sheepish? "While your courage was something to be greatly admired in going up against the peluda, Luc took almost the full brunt of it's attack. You're very lucky it didn't find you first."
"The same could be said for you." Ethan shot back, angered somewhat. Did Jesse just call him weak?
"Easy there, tiger." Jesse sat down on the edge of his bed and Ethan tensed minutely. While the vampire had become less aggressive in his actions since the first time they met, he still sometimes made a point of invading Ethan's personal space. It didn't seem to matter to him if Ethan was responsive or not. "So you really don't remember?"
"It's foggy..." Ethan murmured, but felt more and more depressed with each passing moment. Because the memories were beginning to come back now...
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Ethan panted as he climbed his way up the hill, careful now of the load over his shoulder, and rushed through the alleyway he'd come through. Legs shaking, he hurried through the marketplace, gaining many whispers and concerned looks. A few people even tried to talk to him in their deep, flowing dialect, but Ethan did his best to not notice them and made his way to the main roads.
There, within two minutes of leg-shaking patience, he flagged a transit, and opened the back door in a hurry.
"Hold on, Luc." Ethan muttered, stowing his tutor carefully in the backseat. After shutting him away, he got into the front and quickly pulled out a map of the area immediately around them, marking the place he knew Jesse's mansion to be.
"Don't get out of the car." Ethan tried to tell the man in his native tongue. "Tell them that Luc is in the backseat, hurt. Very hurt!"
The driver also looked confused by what was probably a very bad accent, but he nodded and repeated it back to Ethan as he handed the man twice the payment he needed and then some.
'Bless you' Ethan thought feverishly, hoping that the older man wouldn't simply become a snack for the gate guard back at the mansion. Or, Luc, if he woke up and decided he was thirsty.
"I can't believe myself." Ethan growled, adjusting his bag and taking off toward the direction of the archives building. As he walked, and reached an open part of the town, where he could see a grand building just beyond, he began to feel a presence. It was sinister, and made him think not only twice but more like five times about what he was doing. Reaching into his bag, he gripped the folding knife Luc had given him. "I really can't."
Somewhere in the grass, he heard rustling and hissing. If he didn't move now, both he and Jesse would be done for. Steeling himself in the darkness, he activated his second sight.
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"That was the first time I'd seen with those eyes outside this mansion." Ethan recalled numbly, staring at the water Jesse had just handed him. His hand on the right was heavily bandaged, as was his forearm on his left, and if he wasn't mistaken, his left ankle was also wrapped.
"You saved Luc." Jesse's voice was contemplative. "I know you could have ran, but you chose to bring Luc to safety and try to save me instead."
"...I was stupid." Ethan whispered. He was stupid. Careless. He'd like to say he thought of it before he'd brought Luc to the cab, but he'd only thought of it after he'd began running towards the archives- that he would never truly be safe, if he just went ahead and ran. His family would never be safe- because what had the details of his abduction been?
Jesse had stolen Ethan from the inside of his own home. He'd watched him for months beforehand. If Ethan did manage to make it home, then what was to stop Jesse or one of his lackies from simply coming and retrieving him again? More than his freedom, and up until that moment, he'd been convinced he wanted nothing more...he wanted their safety.
He could never leave unless Jesse allowed it. He would never pull it off. If he escaped and didn't go home...who was to stop the vampires from taking his family hostage to get him to come back? The situation was well and truly hopeless.
Raising the glass to his lips, he took a shaky breath and drank. The water tasted sweet, like fruit, but was crystal clear.
"There's some painkillers in it." Jesse said from suddenly right next to him, causing the seer to almost drop his glass. "Among other things, and please skip the part where you freak out and just drink it. It'll help."
A moment later, Ethan lifted the glass and took a few big gulps of the sweet water, deciding not to care what might happen as a consequence. Right then, he was feeling so disgusted with himself that he couldn't bring himself to care what kind of horrible drugs might be in the water. Maybe they would even put him to sleep.
"Are you hungry?" Jesse asked.
"No." Ethan shook his head, wincing as it pounded. All he wanted to do was sleep and forget about what he'd done for a while longer. It was a strange feeling, to want to crawl out of your own skin.
He startled when he felt the bed shift, and abruptly, Jesse's hands were on his shoulders. Directly behind him and close enough for Ethan's skin to tingle, Jesse let out a barely audible sigh and Ethan tensed, as though, despite the gentle actions, expecting for razor sharp fangs to sink into his neck.
Although Jesse hadn't bitten him since the night they met, nor had he violated his personal space save for long embraces and soft kisses on his skin, the close proximity was enough for Ethan to feel fear coursing through his veins. Raw, human fear, the fear of a mouse cornered by a dark, smirking cat. Jesse was a vampire, cold and ruthless, he...
He'd slid his hands down Ethan's arms and back up to his shoulders, all the while applying the barest of pressure. Now, those same hands were applying firmness gently to his tensed shoulders, and the place where his shoulders met his neck. The tenderness in the action made Ethan want to snarl, scoff and shove the vampire off and cry at the same time.
Logically, he knew that Jesse didn't care for him, not in the slightest, he was foolish for that thought to even cross his mind. Logically, he knew that he should just sit there and take it, because on his best day, he'd still be no match for Jesse, not by a long shot, to be able to push him away with just human strength. His mind knew this, and he was angry.
But his heart was sad, and sinking into something dark and cold. He'd never leave...he'd never know the embrace of his mother, or the soothing, deep tones of his father. He'd never know Jane's annoying little voice pleading with him to play with her, or late nights sleeping on Benny's floor, staring at the old sneakers and books under his bed. He'd never see his star-themed comforter or wake up to the sound of his family bustling about, never sit under the old tree in his backyard...
Emotionally, he was crying for relief. Emotionally, he was caged in a dark room that promised light and warmth if he'd only accept the situation he found himself in. Physically, his body craved comfort, wanted someone to be close to, wanted to see someone smiling at him and hear sincere tones and laughter. Ethan had never been a social or dependent creature by nature, but it was human instinct.
And...the only one he possibly had to rely on was sitting behind him, massaging his shoulders like he mattered, but he knew he didn't. Jesse had told him time and time again, that he was a prize that the vampire had claimed, that he was important, that Jesse would never hurt him, because it would be like hurting himself. Ethan had never believed him, had been ashamed every time he gave in and drank Jesse's blood, because it was like being weak, being close to him but...wasn't that all just a part of the plan? Jesse's plan?
The last solace Jesse had left him was the fact that he hadn't drank from him. The memory of the last time those teeth sunk into him haunted him. The terror he'd felt, having his world turned upside down...he knew things now that he didn't know back then, but he still didn't think he'd be able to bear it if Jesse bit him.
His shoulders relaxed without his consent, as Jesse kneaded the tension right out of his muscles, deflating him. Through his inner turmoil, he was definitely getting sleepy again. The crawling feeling under his skin, however, persisted and Ethan gulped, feeling utterly defenseless.
"You said 'late night escapade'..." Ethan hoped his voice wasn't thick or anything like that. At the same time he felt weak, he couldn't show it, no matter what. Maybe if he made conversation with him, Jesse would be too distracted to bite him.
"You got out of bed last night and made your way to the library in the dark." Jesse informed him, rubbing into his muscles with just the right amount of strength and accuracy for Ethan's eyes to close without permission. "I didn't know what the hell you were thinking, but you fell down the steps and hurt your ankle. Maybe Aria did give you too much pain killers last night."
"Pain killers?" Ethan groaned. "What the hell happened to me? The last thing I remember is tripping and rolling down that damned hill by the town..."
"I told you not to embarrass me." Jesse sighed, and his hands moved lower over Ethan's skin to massage into his upper back. "I'll give you the full details later, if you still want them."
"So is the library where I got the book, then?"
"Well, actually, I tried to take you back to your room, but you insisted, and I was forced to hunt down that wretched book to keep you from waking our staff." Jesse chuckled, and Ethan's breath hitched. "I almost thought we didn't have it on hand, but I found it...and by the time we got back to your room, you were restless but in no state to hold a book."
Jesse's hands slowed their movements and Ethan opened his eyes- he didn't realize had closed them.
"'This is the land of Narnia' said the faun," Jessie recited, now simply resting his hands on the seers arms. "-where we are now; all that lies between the lamp-post and the great castle of Cair Paravel on the eastern sea. And you - you have come from the wild woods of the west?'" Jesse got up from the bed. "It wasn't such a bad read. I mean, it isn't something I'd ever read again, but it was nice. I hadn't read to anyone in...centuries."
Ethan ducked his head slightly as he felt a hot flush come up his neck and settle on his face.
"...You read to me?" The question was almost inaudible, but abruptly Jesse was right in front of his lowered face. Ethan blinked.
"You asked me to."
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Three or four hours later found Ethan sat at a wire dining table just outside the mansion, staring up at the fluffy clouds above the garden, and for once feeling rather lonely.
He had no right or reason to feel that way, after all it was his own fault, he'd always requested that he be able to eat his meals in peace. At first, Jesse had brought him a number of different places in order to get him to warm up to the place, the main dining hall, The several balconies, the poolside, the grand courtyard with all it's fountains and statues, and even the rooftop, where a small observatory encased in glass stood next to a relaxing area with a swinging bench. Eventually, as Ethan resisted the urge to run to all these wonders and explore, Jesse left him to his own devices, and not once did Ethan ever ask him why.
After deciding to take most of his meals by the garden he never found the curiosity to go exploring- and just as he was beginning to come to terms with things, he might have gone to see the courtyard or observatory again. Until yesterday. Now, a gloomy veil of grayness had settled over his mind and heart and all he could do was gaze at the sky and wonder.
It felt a betrayal to himself to be eating the delicious food brought to him by one of Jesse's employees, Aria. She was nice enough, and always asked him how he was settling in as she left to go about her business. She always had a smile for him, and he could find her in almost every place he frequented, going about her business.
The dish in front of him was simple but elegant- who knew macaroni and cheese could be so awesome? It was made up of a weirdly shaped, hallow flat noodles with pinstripes and covered in a creamy blend of cheese. On top of it lay breadcrumbs and a few tiny leaves of some kind of herb.
Awesome, to say the least, and Ethan wished he had the spirit to enjoy it. Nasty thoughts plagued his mind each and every time he ate- it always spoiled it for him, without fail.
Just a pet.
A well-polished tool.
Disgusting.
"Hey now, don't look so depressed." Said the groundskeeper as he came and invited himself to sit at Ethan's table. "I wish I had a hot maid cooking for me everyday."
"Only because I can't cook to save my life." Sighed Ethan, internally grumbling nonsensical insults at the completely leather and chain mail clad vampire. None of his past encounters with the man had ever been tense, nor particularly lengthy, but they always seemed to find some way to grind on each other's nerves. "I've only just turned fifteen, what's your excuse?"
"Feisty today, aren't we, monster-bait?" The man hissed from behind the mask he always donned, even during the rainiest of days. All Ethan could see was flashes of intense yellow through the hockey-like helmet with thick-set metal wiring over the eyes. "You're just lucky Jesse finds your attitude adorable rather than infuriating."
He stood then, and reached out with one rubber-gloved hand to flick Ethan in the forehead, who yelped in surprise and then growled indignantly. Abruptly, Ethan stood, but almost immediately sat back down as he heard a thump and then the sound of water hitting the stone flooring. Not to mention his ankle giving a painful throb.
The groundskeeper only let out a deep, bellowing and obnoxious bark of a laugh while he set out to his main quarters, way on the other side of the manor, into the forest. There were two ways to reach it that he knew of- the path straight through the garden, and the underground path through the shed by the greenhouse at the adjacent corner of the manor. Ethan didn't know what was over there, but had a decent idea that maybe it was where they housed their experimentation materials or weapons. The very thought made him shudder.
"Damned vampires." Ethan grumbled and bent to grab the book that had fallen off of his lap. Sighing, he wiped the water that had fallen onto the book, and then did a double-take when he realized he hadn't brought the book on French poetry like he thought he had. Though similar-looking, it became apparent that it was very different. On the front was a picture of what looked like an eggplant.
"Typical, Ethan." The seer sighed, and then flipped randomly though the pages. What was he gonna read now? It had taken nearly fifteen minutes for him to reach the back porch unattended after his long nap, and he absolutely refused to be helped around like a damsel in distress, though Jesse and Aria both had offered.
Suddenly, a note flew out of the book. Old and faded, it looked as though written by ink and quill. It fell out of the page where one corner was marked visibly by what used to be a dog-ear fold, That page was about garlic.
At once, it raised warning bells in Ethan's mind. Garlic? What were the odds of coming across an article about the one weakness known to vampires? Or...
Ethan raised the note and read through it carefully. Poireau...or, maybe not the only weakness.
Je m'apelle Horace Noir.
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Or, perhaps maybe garlic was the only weakness. Ethan grimaced with a "Hmph" as he looked over the page of the book once more, and the note that came with it. The note stated that it was written by this guy Horace Black, and that he had vital information about the weaknesses of vampires. It talked, in short, about a plant, a vegetable related to garlic called the leek.
This leek plant could be found in a number of places, along with a plant called Ail du soleil, garlic of the light (if his translation was correct), which both respectively had power over vampires. Leek, when consumed, can physically weaken a vampire to the point of helplessness and paralysis is ingested in large amounts. Light garlic, on the other hand, if grown under the right conditions and combined with other components could be used to...to...
Regrettably, the ink had smudged away too much for Ethan to be sure what the rest said. It didn't matter either way, because he wasn't going to try it. He wasn't going to try anything. It was just what the bastard vampire wanted.
It all started when it has begun to rain, just after his unlikely discovery of the note. Ethan had been studying the little note with mild interest, not exactly taking it seriously, and had felt a raindrop hit his head. He looked up, and scowled.
Goodness, he certainly was more irritable than he had been in a while. Make no mistake, he was still too disgusted with himself to do much of anything, even after the drugged water and his long nap. Now, the porch roof had decided to drip on him. Lovely.
Drip, drip, drip.
He didn't believe the stupid note one bit. It looked like it had been written by a madman, about to fly off his rocker. Just by the shaky state of the writing and poor penmanship, the ink splotches. Besides, if such a thing existed as an alternative weapon
He leant back, and as usual when faced with products of nature, just sat and took it. Closing his eyes, he let the damned porch roof leak all over him. Maybe he'd have a bath later, if he felt miserable enough. Just maybe, he'd even slip and fall, or drown in the soapy water-
Then it hit him, and he shot up in his seat like a jack-in-the-box. Among the dreamy thoughts of offing himself came a sudden and mind-shaking realization like being struck with a sack of loose rocks. He'd heard the lady at the farmers market in town wrong. Natural leak...she hadn't been senile after all, she wasn't talking about forces of nature or leaky ceilings. His stupid, English-wired brain had messed up in his translation. Not natural leak.
Wild leek.
When he'd first climbed his way to his room and slammed the door, Ethan had been filled with new purpose, clawing through the pack Jesse had salvaged for him from the night he'd saved Luc (which was actually two nights before, not yesterday night). But the excitement had died down when he realized how perfect the situation really was.
No one to stop him. In fact, if he'd had inhibitions the last time he'd been given a chance to run, they were gone now. Now, the vampires definitely owed him, right? Ha...yeah right. Arrogant creatures, vampires were. They probably thought he had done it because of all that they'd done, allowing him to now make the best decision. Of course, they hadn't said this, but vampires were creatures lower than dirt, with a status at the very top of the food chain and that's what Ethan chose to believe they thought.
But...
Ethan held up the strange looking asparagus-slash-celery looking thing he'd bought at the market. Only one of them. Wild leek. And now, he found that it held some kind of power over vampires?
If he hadn't have brought the wrong book from his bedroom, if he hadn't gone to the market to buy it, if there hadn't been a note stuck inside...where did the stupid note come from anyway? What were the odds? How many people in Canada actually knew of the existence of vampires? Ethan didn't know...
And now, he held one in his hands. He wouldn't have known what the thing was, if the old lady hadn't explained it to him. If the town hadn't been having their cultural festival, the book might not have fallen into his lap, as it did. His French lessons had prepared him to be able to speak the language, and Ethan had studied hard due to Jesse's cruel mocking of him. Ethan could do anything he set his mind to, dammit! Even learn a language in just a few months with no previous linguistic talent.
But back to the matter at hand...everything...had just fallen into place. It was too much of a coincidence. Almost as if it had been...set up that way.
An image of a smiling Jesse popped into his mind, and Ethan's eyes narrowed. That dirty bastard! Had he planned this?! All this information coming together, the circumstances in which Ethan had come to gather all of it, everything, set up so flawlessly. Now, as he knelt painfully on his window seat, sorting through the items he's bought at the market, he wondered. He'd been given the means and the chance to strategically make his escape- if the note was true, he could, perhaps, poison them all and run. Maybe burn the manor as he ran, wouldn't that be-
No. Ethan grounded himself. No half thought out plans anymore, not like last time. Just look at where it got me. I had the chance to escape and didn't take it- for the right reasons, but still. I'm hurt and disgusted and second-guessing myself and I'm still nowhere near a plausible solution. Impatience will get me nowhere. You're a creature with a brain, Ethan. Use it.
Yes, it was obvious now, in his mind. He'd been set up, no question. Perfect sequences of events like this didn't happen in real life, only fairy tales. He was- he was sure Jesse and possibly Luc had both had something to do with it to make it all possible. To give him a chance...but for what reasons? To test his courage? To mock him? There had to be a motive to this, and something still wasn't sitting well with him. What was it?
The seer exhaled slowly and carefully replaced everything back in his pack, then stowed it on the coat hanger by the door. There, now the ingredient with the supposed potential to take out vampires was neither hidden nor in plain sight. If Jesse had something to do with this, then he knew he had it. It might not even have been true, the information about the leek plant. It could be harmless, and it wouldn't have taken much to make the note look aged and beaten up.
So, what to do now? If one thing was for certain, he wasn't going to use the plant, at all. It would just be playing into Jesse's scheme. If he'd already resigned himself to the fact that he could never leave without Jesse's permission, then he had no use for it, after all.
What had he been thinking? If he couldn't even leave his idiot tutor Luc to save his own life, how could he expect himself to poison everyone and burn the place down? There were human staff here too, which was mostly the reason he tried to behave himself most of the time. This place, the time he'd spent there, had obviously muddled his sense of reason, and unless he resolved his inner conflicts soon, it would tear him apart at the roots. Something had to be done before he was done in.
Ethan stared at the ceiling and tried to come to grips with himself. What did he do now? He wouldn't give Jesse the satisfaction of seeing him make a fool of himself. Not with the plant, at the very least. Ethan was neither knowledgeable enough of the truth, nor agile enough to pull of a complex, one-man prison break. He knew that.
So...what would he do?
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"The seer has been taken out of Whitechapel, milady." The vampire kneeling at the feet of three roved vampires spoke with certainty. "It seems the day of his taking has already come to pass. He is gone."
"According to your report, he was taken months ago." A small, female vampire's fangs descended terrifyingly. "You've let him slip through our fingers, right out from under our noses! How could this have happened, he's human! It was your job to keep tabs on him!"
"I realize this." The kneeling vampire's head bowed low. "Apologies, Anastasia, I have no idea what happened, I-"
"Go easy on him, Anastasia, he's young." The elder council member to her left sighed as though bored with the whole topic. "Easily outmatched by someone who could swipe the seer child out of his home without anyone's knowledge. Not even the boy's family or the civilian police has a clue what happened. No signs of struggle, forced entry, nor any belongings taken or marks left behind."
"All of that is true." The little girl's eyes flashed dangerously. "But none of it does us any good now, does it? We are not the family of the brat, and we are not the civilian police, we are the elite Vampire Council of Whitechapel! Someone explain to me how a century and a half year old vampire could have his fifteen-year-old human charge taken from right underneath him!"
No one had a chance to answer as she was upon the poor kneeling vampire in an instant, tearing into him with steely claws and monstrous strength. The same council member who had spoken on his behalf closed his eyes to the sight. The member to the right had a grimace on his face.
"I agree with your sentiments, Lady Anastasia. The situation in our little town has become rather dire, hasn't it? But killing our less gifted members won't help the situation."
"It makes me feel better." Anastasia hissed at the body lying at her feet and then kicked it to the side. "Forget the underlings, let's send one of our own out to find Ethan Morgan. It's only been two months and a half and already I grow tired of waiting."
She walked over to the basin at the other end of the room and washed the blood off of her hands. After ridding herself of the filth and taking off her dirtied cloak, she put on a more modern styled trench coat and snatched an open file off of her desk.
"I'm going into town for a while. I'll take two guards and go to interrogate the first of kin myself- take the spellmaster and his troublesome grandmother into headquarters if I have to. Meanwhile." She turned towards the double-doors and flung her bloody cloak at the underling vampire's body.
"Have someone clean that up."
"Of course, madam."
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"Hm?" Ethan looked up from his readings as lightning struck outside. Though the windows were firmly closed, he felt chilled suddenly.
"What's that?" Jesse asked, from where he was tending to Ethan's ankle. On his way up from the porch, he'd twisted it just a little in all the excitement. Now, though, he tried to look at Jesse as little as possible, trying to say even less than that.
"Nothing. It's just..." Ethan shook his head. He hadn't wanted Jesse to wrap him up again. Why couldn't the vampire just be cruel to him? He tried to refuse, but Jesse had settled him in and ordered some medicated tea to be brought to him anyway. "Nothing. It's cold."
"Hm."
Something seemed to be eating at the dark vampire as well. He'd hardly spoken to him since coming in (without permission).
"Well, all done. Now try not to injure yourself further, okay dork?" Jesse stood up and headed for the door.
'That's it?' Ethan almost caught himself saying, but kept his trap firmly shut until Jesse was out the door. Then, he sighed and drank a bit of his tea, trying not to think of what Jesse might have put in it.
Dully, he looked at the wooden box Jesse had given to him earlier in the week.
Ethan had decided.
Tonight, he would do something terrifying, and it was all going to be...for nothing. There was no logical point to it, but even Ethan had to accept that he was way beyond logic now. He had to do something, and even if he wouldn't play into Jesse's hands and try the leek solution, he would still try, one last time to get out.
Well...he knew it was a lost cause. But as his inner struggles have probably suggested, he grew more and more lax in his rebellion with every day that passed. Each day, he doubted himself more and more. Doubted his strength and worth, and the more he tried, the more he failed. He almost couldn't imagine anything worse.
Was he giving up?
The seer flopped back on his bed and felt tears sting his eyes for the first time in a while. Usually, it took a significant event to push him over the edge of his emotional boundaries, but he found the more he just thought about it, the more he felt like he was teetering on the edge of what was right and what was wrong. The right side held nothing but pain and burned bridges and distance...and the wrong side was beginning to become familiar and comforting. Close, so close.
Would it be so bad for him to start to enjoy the food he ate? Ethan squeezed his eyes closed. Yes, it would be, but the alternative was to tear himself apart. If he didn't stop with the masochism, what would he do? Starve? Go insane? He'd lost weight in just the last two months, surviving basically on a few bites of food each day that should have tasted great, but instead left his stomach feeling sick and heavy.
Would it be so bad to go up to observatory like he secretly wanted, and look at the stars from the country sky? Or to go and marvel at all the exotic fish and plants? To read or relax by the fountains and statues in the front courtyard? To swim in the pool?
The worst part was, yes. Yes, it would be horrible of him, because he knew that back home, his parents were crying for him, wondering what terrible things were happening to him. Jane was wondering why her big brother didn't come home to her, Benny was probably so lonely...to accept any of this and spit in the face of their suffering was...it was just evil. He hated it, he hated himself for considering it.
To accept that Jesse...that he owned him from here on out? Did Jesse own him? Did he?
Either way, Ethan had to push these thoughts away. His heart screamed at him all of these things, it was a physical ache in his chest, but his mind was angry. To live, and not go insane, he had to adapt and just live with it. He wouldn't accept it, but...he would resign himself to it. To accept that this terrible situation was not going anywhere and would not be made better by his petty efforts. It would only make it harder on him.
If he had one comfort left, it would be the hope that one day...whenever that day came, if it ever did...one day, his efforts might pay off. Maybe, if he did everything he was supposed to, instead of what he wanted, Jesse would have no further use for him and let him return home. Maybe then, all the pain would go away and all the hope will not have been wasted. Was it really giving up, if he planned for it to turn out right in the end?
But this all came after tonight. Tonight, he would try to leave this premises of Jesse's, more out of his own pride than anything else. He would not play fool on Jesse's terms, but his own. Guilt still plagued him- he couldn't escape, he knew that, and even if he could escape, he still couldn't, out of fear of what might happen to his loved ones. It was an impossible situation.
This was it, his one final act of rebellion- or so he planned, anyway, and it was all going to be utterly worthless in the end. Maybe he'd already gone crazy.
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AN:So Ethan didn't abandon them after all! :D Had you fooled, didn't I? Well, maybe his actual escape attempt will catch you off guard a little.
Soo, this is turning into a far more complex story than I imagined D: In fact, it's now so complex and utterly unlike what I originally planned, I had to change the summary a bit.
But, hopefully, all of the turmoil shall have passed by the next chapter or so. I thought there was too much rambling in this chapter, and not enough interaction or dialogue. Silly me. Does anyone want to see anything in particular, next chapter? Any guesses as to who the groundskeeper is?
No one recognises Luc? ;D He made a very brief appearance in one of my other stories.
What's Jesse planning? What's Ethan planning? What about the Council?! (Snap decision, BT Dubs.)
Thank you so much to all of those who still review, it makes me so happy :'D -cries- and makes me write faster! Some of you sure are quick on the uptake!
Until next time!
Updated Jan. 16th 2017 8:55am (PS, I haven't been to sleep!)