Disclaimer: This fanfiction is based in the era of the Roman Empire to give you all some context. Some practices from this empire may be present in this story. I created a new Empire for this story. The Gotham Empire, totally original right? Wrong! I can't claim DC Universe, or the Known World like many have done before *cough* Alexander the Great *cough* Napoleon *cough* Your face :B
Rated T: Blood. Abuse. Death.
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The Changing of a Heart
By: Fanficer21
Chapter 8
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Robin awoke to a pain in his back. The sound of humming broke him from his groggy state causing him to shift slightly. He tried to stretch, but only caused him more pain. "Uggghh!" He moaned when a warm, wet cloth was placed upon his back, followed by fingers gently brushing through his hair.
"How are you feeling? Is the water working?" Livia asked sweetly as she removed the cloth and and put it back into the bowl beside her. She then squeezed it softly before placing it back onto the red cuts covering the boy's back. "Sore..." Was Robin's mumbled response.
"You were out for 2 days. I've been using herb water to soothe and heal your cuts, though they will scar." She replied with teary eyes. Robin was quiet for a few minutes, as if he was mulling over a tough question. "Livi?"
"Yes Rob?" She brushed his bangs down his forehead, waiting for his answer. "Why are you here? I-In this aweful house...Why are you a...slave?" He asked looking into her eyes from his position on the floor. Smiling sadly, Livia trailed her fingers over his forehead and down his nose. "I was the oldest of 5 children. My father didn't have the money to pay his debts, so he sold me instead...that was 20 years ago."
"Y-you were youger than me! How could that-" Livia cut off Robin's rant as he tried to sit up despite the pain it caused. He got to his knees when Livia grabbed his bare shoulders and gently pushed him back down. Replacing the wet cloth. "Relax Robin. You'll heal faster if you don't move. It happened a long time ago. I'm over it now. Please just rest little brother."
Robin smirked at her calling him her 'little brother'. "Thanks big sis!" He said with a laugh, only to hitch his breath and clench his jaw at the pain.
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For the next week Livia would tend to Robin's back for a few hours everyday. Meanwhile Antonius grew more angry with each passing day because Robin wasn't healing any faster and he had places to go, things to steal. Sometimes he wondered if he should just kill the boy and get a new slave.
At the beginning of the second week Robin was back on his feet, but he was afraid to be near the master, especially alone. Every time Antonius entered the room or garden, Robin's body would become tense. He flinched everytime he accidentally did something wrong, because he was always rewarded with a form of assault, whether it be a slap, punch, or kick. There were a few times that he even flinched when Livia would ruffle his hair.
Life in that house continued as it would everyday. Antonius would take Robin out and make him steal stuff from vendors, to which the boy did out of fear. His dancing and acrobatic skills greatly helped him to grab precious jewelry without being detected. This continued for a month, until one fateful day when Robin made a big mistake.
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"Get out here boy!" Antonius growled from outside the house. Robin who was scrubbing the floor, quickly got up and ran to the door. "Good boy! You know the routine." The man spoke with a look of superiority on his face. Robin just nodded before leaving the confines of the house and standing beside the man. Livia had tried to the master to stop using Robin for his own gain, but he only slapped her everytime she spoke out on the issue.
Walking down the street, Robin spared a glance back at the house. Livia was in the doorway watching her little brother disappear into the crowd. Robin had an uneasy feeling. His mother always told him to listen to the feelings if something didn't seem right. And right now they were telling him to get back into the house and away from Antonius. He was broken from his reverie when he bumped into the master's back when the man stopped. "Watch it you little *censorship alert*!" Said man growled before turning into an alley, Robin close behind. Pointing to one street vendor in particular the man demanded that Robin steal from another jewelry vender just around the corner. Robin hesitantly nodded before inching his way forward. He hid in the shadows behind the shop and watch reaching for an emerald necklace with seven stones chained together. He almost had in his grasp when he noticed a familiar red head walking down the street. The seconds he should have been using to grab the necklace and go were wasted. He looked at the necklace then back at the street, he breathing stopped when he saw the same man he accidentally ran into weeks before. Said man was looking this way. Looking at him with narrowed eyes.
Robin panicked as he bolted backwards and into Antonius who came forward to see what was taking so long. He growled when he felt the
boy's impact. Seeing nothing in the boy's hands, he grabbed Robin's wrist and dragged him back into the alley before slamming him against the stone wall. Robin turned his head towards the street and away from the man breathing down his neck. "Why didn't you take anything?"
Tears coming to Robin's eyes, he squeaked out his response. "H-He saw me!" "Well you wouldn't have been caught if you didn't stand there like the *censorship alert* you are!" Getting fed up with the verbal assault, Robin's mind filled with rage, before thrusting his knee into Antonius's family jewels. He took his chance to run as soon as the man fell back grabbing his unmentionables and giving the boy a look that could kill twice. The boy ran through the streets as fast as he could without looking back. Tears were in his eyes as he thought of what the master would do this time. Trying not to think about it, he pushed on. Upon reaching the house he searched for Livia. Finding her in the garden he grabbed her hand and ran towards the front door.
"Robin, what is it? What's wrong?" She saw the look of terror on his face when he looked back at her. "We need to get out of here! Now! Come with me Livi. Please!" He screamed causing her to shake with fear. "Oh no! Robin, you didn't-" She was cut off by the sound of Antonius snarling in the doorway. He held a large dagger in his hand and eyed Robin evilly before stepping forward. "It's time you learned your place, slave. In the dirt!" Robin's and Livia's eyes grew wide before Robin turned around and bolted away from the man, dragging Livia behind him. They had just reached the garden when Robin felt something plow into him, pinning him to the wall. He felt Livia's hand being torn from his before hearing a yelp and Livia fall onto the ground. A firm hand grabbed his shoulder and yanked him around so his back was pressed against the wall. He was frozen with fear at the sight of Antonius holding the dagger above his head before thrusting it towards the boy. He cried as he closed his eyes, waiting for the blade to pierce his heart.
Then he felt it, an impact into his side causing him to fall to the ground sideways followed by a grunt. Opening his eyes, his world shattered for a second time upon seeing Livia standing in his place. The dagger's hilt rested upon her chest. Antonius stood still, his eyes wide at the sight. "NO!" Robin cried scrambling to his feet.
"Robin, run." Livia cried softly, before taking a few struggled breaths. "RUN!" She screamed this time, but Robin couldn't move. Everything around him stopped as he watched his sister's eyes close as she fell to the ground. Bending down, the man pulled the dagger from her heart.
"Look what you did boy!" Antonius bellowed before charging Robin. His instincts kicked into overdrive as his body took control and he ran through the house and out the door as fast as he could. Tears poured down his cheeks and took flight as he charged like a mad bull. He didn't care where he was going, just so long as he got away from the enraged man. Pushing forward, he didn't see the man around the corner and into an alley as he flew blindly.
"Whoa there little boy! Now why all the tears?" The man with black hair and green eyes asked as he held onto Robin's shoulders after he plowed into the man. Shaking in the man's hold, Robin tried to get away, but the grip was too firm. "H-He k-killed her!" He sobbed into his hands. However, as soon as he heard a pair of feet running his way and a snarl he struggled in the man's hold, begging to be let go. "H-He's going t-to k-kill me!" The man's eyes narrowed before pulling Robin behind him.
"Stop right there mister! What's this all about a killing?" The man asked as Antonius rounded the corner. Antonius stopped in his tracks when he saw the man protecting his slave. "Give him here! He going to sleep in the dirt when I'm through with him!" Antonius demanded, but the other man just raised an eyebrow.
"Or we can make a deal. You want him gone. I'm in need of a new slave." The man grind while jingling a pouch of money. "I've got 3,000 denarii in here. Take it or leave it." Robin cowered behind his savior's back as he watched Antonius look between him and the pouch. With a growl, he ripped the pouch out of the man's hand. "If I ever see you again, your dead!" He growled before disappearing around the corner.
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To Be Continued...
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The next chapter might take a few days to finish, but I'll post it as soon as I'm done.
