They landed after only a two hour flight.
"Keep your eyes closed." The elder.
"Why?" The younger. His master had told him to strip down to his pants as he did the same. He threw their sabers into the pile of clothes and passed the boy a blaster. This was another planet Jedi were not well loved on. John's curiosity was getting the better of him.
Sherlock yanked the boy into the air and gave him a small squeeze. "Padawan." The master gave him a sharp warning. He climbed out of the shuttle with his hand over the boy's eyes. John squirmed in his grip.
"Master?" The child was sniffing the air. The aroma of sea salt was incredibly rich on Stewjon, the grass was dark green and came up to his knees, the sky was an incredible blue, everything about that planet screamed John. The boy was grabbing his master's fingers as he began to recognize the scent of his home planet. "Master!"
Sherlock let the boy see the green field they stood in. His childish pleasure was immediate, he gave Sherlock the most strangling embrace he had ever received. Sherlock gave a surprised huff as John thanked him repeatedly. Affection was creeping into his chest again. He threw the boy over his shoulder and made a force dash towards the nearest body of water. The boy was yelling his name over and over. Sherlock threw the boy with all his might into the sea, John gave a loud shout of joy.
The boy skipped across the surface several times before dropping under. He reemerged waving like a manic. "Master!" A force propelled wave knocked into the knight's face. Sherlock fell back laughing. He yanked off his boots and stashed the blaster inside. John swam ashore swiftly mimicking his master. They threw their boots next to the walls of a cliff that circled the shore. Sherlock threw him back into the cool sea.
John began thrusting waves in Sherlock's direction trying to bring the older man under. Sherlock countered them all easily, blasting his padawan back with waves of his own. At last he lowered his guard enough for John to drag him into the sea. The boy jumped on his shoulders in an attempt to bring him under.
Sherlock's hands found his tiny waist and hoisted him into the air. He threw the small boy away from him listening to the sound of joyous laughter. John's head bobbed above water for a few seconds before vanishing. Sherlock waited.
A mighty tug dragged him under, until he came face to face with a beaming padawan. Sherlock crushed the little boy to him and did a back flip out of the water. They landed back in the center of the shore with both men laughing fiercely.
John, who was still crushed in Sherlock's embrace, rested his head on the tall knight's shoulder. "Thank you."
"We aren't done with that discussion, John. I am your protector, you are not mine. Promise me." Sherlock held the boy tighter. He could feel returning distress their bond. "At least until you are a knight yourself, promise me."
John looked at him with sad blue eyes. "You've always protected everyone though. Even Master Lestrade, someone needs to protect you."
"Who told you that?" Sherlock asked quietly.
"I had a dream…and Mycroft told me you always protected people, even if they didn't like you." He looked into Sherlock's ocean blue eyes. "I want to be like that, like a good man." He rested his head back on Sherlock's shoulder.
"John, promise me." He rested his cheek on John's head. "My little one, promise me, until you are older."
"If you promise to let me help you with other things." The boy said decidedly. "Then I promise you, Master."
"I promise." Sherlock said softly. He rocked the boy briefly before flinging him back into the sea. John submerged laughing.
Sherlock braced himself to follow the child in when a cold voice behind him spoke cruelly. "I hope you weren't planning on jumping in my father's lake." Rough hands seized him and forced him to his knees. "But judging by your appearance you have been enjoying yourself for quite some time."
Blast it. This was exactly was sentiment was unacceptable. He had been too distracted by John to sense impending danger. John, stay under.
The response was immediately panicked. Why? What's wrong?
Stay under, I'm going to try to negotiate with someone. That's all.
Master!
Little one, your promise. I can handle this.
But…
If you come up I may not be able to focus on the negotiations. You will stay under, this is a direct order.
Yes, Master.
Sherlock bowed his head, but threw his senses out wide. Two guards and an annoyed female, maybe age twenty, higher up in society going by her earlier comments, long blond hair, blue eyes signature of the Stewjon race, carried an electric whip.
Perfect.
"You're not from around here." The female murmured.
"Oh yes, very observant. How long did it take you come up with that…" She kicked him in the stomach.
So much for negotiations.
She towered over him. "A man your position should be more polite."
"A man in my position should get to know his captors before deciding if they are with a daring escape or politeness." Sherlock's wit was a blaze. Her hand strayed to her whip, and he sighed. Daring escape it was, he could no doubt lead them away from the lake. He would return for John after they had been out run and completely worn down. He tensed his muscles.
"My princess!" One of the guards was holding up a small pair of boots. "He's got a pup out there too."
Kardikark, Kardikark, Kardikark. He swore. I can't leave if they are searching for John. Gowdo!
"Is there a pup? We must bring him in for punishment as well." The female was cruel, Sherlock met her gaze coldly.
"My pup is only eight." He said harshly.
"Should have chosen politeness then." She smirked.
"If that is your punishment," he nodded his head towards the whip, "I will take his. Add it to mine."
She pondered this. John was probing his mind shields in desperate search of news.
Stay down there, padawan. It's being handled.
"My pup is from your planet, I am not. I brought him here because he enjoys swimming, I didn't know it was trespassing in this place. Don't punish him because his father is an arrogant sod, please." The "please" damaged the knight's pride, but he had been on the end of those whips many times in his youth. His padawan would not go through the same.
"You admit yourself a fool?" The female kicked his injured pride.
"I admit I do not want my pup whipped for my arrogance. I am a show off, it's what I do. Where is your justice? You would whip a little boy because his father is hundark?" The female flinched at his choice of words. "If the only apology you will accept is a bloody back, I will give it. Not my boy."
Damn you, John. Damn you for making me soft.
The boy had made him apologize for every rude thing he had said in the past month under penalty of temper tantrum. It was horrible for him to be so clever and have to apologize for it, but John's mighty wailing was worse.
"The punishment for trespassing is five lashes, since you are taking your pup's it will be ten." The female decided. The guards hoisted him to his feet and released his arms. "Put your hands against the cliffs walls, if you make a move to escape we will search for your pup."
Interesting rule.
He spread his hands on the walls of the rugged cliff and presented his back to the female. She let out a low gasp, his back was already heavily scarred from boyhood. He shrugged, Lestrade and John had reacted the same way, but they would not discuss it. "Get it over with."
The first time wasn't nearly as bad as he remembered it. His shields were fully tightened against his padawan's probing. The second and third whip crashed over his back, he forced himself to breathe through his nose. He refused to give them the satisfaction of his cries of pain. The fourth clipped his ear, but he simply bit his lip. The fifth sent blood down his legs, he grunted painfully.
"That was your five." The female said with undisguised dominance.
"Have we started?" Sherlock asked innocently.
The sixth and seventh hurt like a Sith. He dropped to his knees, but kept his hands in place. If had been a normal man he would have been unconscious. His lip started bleeding as he clamped down harder on it. Eighth, ninth. John, think of John. The tenth crashed mercilessly between his shoulder blades. He leaned his shoulder into the wall, his breathing was labored.
"Call your pup." She commanded forcefully.
"When you're safely out reach I will." He said through clenched teeth. He could barely stand.
"You don't trust me?" She said slyly.
"Forgive me, I am an over protective father." He clawed his way onto his feet. "I don't want to give him the opportunity to sound like me."
"A wise answer." The female smirked. She said something in a language Sherlock didn't understand, the guards began to depart. She stared at the dark hair knight's muscular back, blood coursed freely from it. "Your pup is lucky to have a strong father." Her voice changed into a deeper tone.
"My pup will be lucky if I can take him home tonight with my back in shreds." He scowled. The healers were going a have field day, Rica was going to kill him for coming home injured.
Again.
The female stared at him for a long time, clearly enjoying her dominance. Sherlock scowled, he was a Jedi knight. He could easily outmatch a stupid girl, it was his fear for John that kept his mouth shut. She turned on her heel, her blond hair swishing behind her. Sherlock leaned into the wall.
Not yet, John.
He waited until he could no longer sense the female's presence before he called to John. The boy emerged the moment his name was called. The look of pain on his face was almost unbearable as he swam ashore. Sherlock sat down on the bank and crossed his legs. The padawan sat across from his master with his head bowed.
"Are you alright?" He sniffed.
"Pleased." Sherlock said softly. He rested a hand on the boy's head. "You kept your promise."
"I didn't want to." The boy mumbled.
"I could stand it, John. For you it would have been unbearable." Sherlock assured him. "And that would have made it worse for me."
"Yes, Master." John sniffed. "But you promised I could help you, so sit still."
oOo
Harriet watched the pup swim to shore.
He was clearly from their planet. His hair was dirty blond, and his eyes were sky blue. He sat across from his father with his head deeply bowed as though the whole thing was his fault. The father placed a hand on the tiny tot's head.
Eight? The boy was lucky to look six.
They were speaking in hushed tones, the pup rose and was running away from his father while shouting something back at him. The dark haired father yelled at the pup and threw a boot at him, but was laughing all the same.
The man was laughing after being brutally whipped?
Harriet studied him from her hiding place. He was an incredibly attractive man, coupled with the incredibly strength of will. He would have made a marvelous mate, maybe one her father would approve of and allow to rule with her. It would take an unbelievably strong mate to convince her father to let her rule.
But the man had a pup already, he hadn't mentioned the pup's mother. But why would he mention his mate to his torturers? Then again why would he bring the pup this far away from its mother?
The pup was returning with a medical kit, the father was already telling the pup off in a mocking way. The abuse was ignored as the child knelt behind his father's back and dabbed at with some kind of ointment. The father cringed. She heard the man tell the pup to get lost, but the child was persistent.
The father grabbed the child around the middle and pulled him into his lap. The pup was laughing loudly, while the father tickled him mercilessly. He flipped the pup upside down and tickled his stomach. The pup was shouting for him to stop, but the father simply flung him over his shoulder and made his way to their ship.
Ten lashes with an electric whip and he could still carry his pup across the fields?
Strong, unbelievably strong.
The pup wiggled uncomfortably, he barked at his father viscously. Eventually he submitted into his father's grasp. The boy huffed and whined until he was finally out of ear shot.
Harriet Watson slid down from her hiding place with a small grunt. The pup had looked insanely familiar, but she couldn't place from where.
Perhaps the gods would bring them together again.