Two chapters in one day, holy shit! Alright, now the story kicks in full throttle, which means that this chapter contains RAPE and MURDER. If that disturbs you, I don't even know why you've come this far because I warned you back in chapter one. GTFO.

I'M SO SORRY N, PLEASE FORGIVE ME.

How many regrets must I suffer? How many times will I fail him? How many times can I afford to until he breaks? Or am I already too late?

Why did I not just get him out of there when I had the chance?

It was Lord N's eighteenth birthday, so of course a grand party was held. Ghetsis returned from his trip, and now I took note of how he said nothing of what he did while he was gone to Lord N, but spent most of the time speaking with the six other Sages in a dark corner of the ballroom.

The evening went by quickly as I stood to the side, watching Lord N dance with the noblewomen and open presents and generally look beautiful. When the party ended, however, he headed straight for the gardens after slipping away with me in tow.

"Where are we going, my Lord?" I asked him. "It's late, don't you think you ought to retire for the night?"

He only shook his head and continued purposefully down a path we had never taken before. After much weaving and winding, I felt my jaw drop to see that we were now entering the royal graveyard.

"Majesty.. What business do you have here..?" Lord N did not strike me as the kind of person who would willingly enter a cemetery in the middle of the night.

"It's the anniversary of my mother's death." Was his soft reply as he continued towards a large family tomb.

"I.. I'm so sorry.." He lost his mother on his birthday? Just how had he been able to get through this day with a smile?

Lord N knelt on the steps leading up to the tomb and set down the bouquet of roses he had brought with him from the party. It was then that I noticed the family name carved above the door.

"Wait.. Harmonia..?"

He nodded and pointed to the large plaque nearby upon which the names of everyone buried inside were carved. The last on the list was Madeline Harmonia, and according to the dates, she had been twenty years old when she died, and Lord N only four.

"Then you're related to Ghetsis?"

"She was his younger sister."

"..What about your father? Where is he?" It was a question I had wondered often, although I had assumed that he was either an orphan or had perhaps been bought from his parents when the prophecy named him future king.

Lord N was silent for a moment before replying. "I never knew any father."

Unsure of what I should say, I watched as he moved to sit down against the door, but when he curled up into a ball and shut his eyes, I took a step forward.

"My Lord? What are you doing?"

"I'm tried."

"Y-you can't sleep here!"

He looked up at me then, and in the moonlight I saw that he was shaking terribly, and there were tears in his eyes. "I don't want to go back.. Please let me stay here tonight..."

Feeling my heart break at the sight of him, I knelt down and removed my long jacket to cover him with before wiping away his tears. "Don't you want to at least be more comfortable?"

"I'm fine here."

"Alright, whatever you wish, my Lord. I will be here with you."

His eyes slid shut again, so I went over to lay on the grass until I felt myself drifting off. Getting up, I paced around and stretched to stay awake. Even though this was a private cemetery, there was no telling what might happen, so I was determined to keep a close vigil.

Some hours later I hear him stir and mumble in his sleep. At first I thought nothing of it, but then he began to whimper. Returning to his side, I saw that he had started crying again.

'A nightmare?' I wondered. As if to answer, his whole body flinched violently and he starting sobbing. Panicking slightly, I shook him awake as gently as possible.

"Lord N? Lord N! It's alright, you're dreaming!"

With a gasp he awoke, looking around in frantic confusion for a moment before noticing me.

"Black.." He whispered, face crumbling as his moment of terror passed.

"I'm here." I reassured him softly. "You must have been having a nightmare."

He nodded, and I saw that he had begun to shake again.

"..Would it help to tell me about it?" It was what my mother always used to ask when I had a nightmare, and sometimes it did make me feel better, so...

For a long moment he said nothing. "I remember." He whispered at last. "I remember that night. When Mother died."

"Weren't you only four?"

"It's one of the earliest memories I have. We were riding a horse.. Then we fell.. I wasn't hurt, but she.. She was covered in red... I don't remember her face, just the sight of her laying there..."

"Oh, my Lord.." Feeling helpless, I moved closer and put one arm around him. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."

We stayed that way until the sun came up, and at last he agreed to return to the castle.

"Are you sure you'll be ok?" I asked once more as we stood outside his chambers.

"Yes. Thank you for keeping me company. I.. It helped. It helped not to be alone."

I returned his faint smile. "Whenever you need me, I'm right here. I'll always be here for you."

Lord N turned away, and I almost did not hear his last words.

"You can't always."

Third Person POV

N stopped as he returned from his bath, the warmth from the water leaving his body all at once when he saw the man sitting on his bed.

"Good afternoon, N." Ghetsis said smoothly.

"Good afternoon." The young man returned in a soft voice as his eyes fixed themselves on the floor.

"Has it been so long that you're shy now? Come here and greet me properly."

Swallowing, N stepped forward and crawled onto the man's lap, kissing him on the cheek.

"So you spent the night in the graveyard, did you?" Ghetsis's tone was mild, but N flinched anyway. "It's a good thing no one was the wiser, but you really ought to have told me. A whole month apart and yet you would prefer to sleep amongst the dead than be here with me?"

"I'm sorry..."

Ghetsis suddenly grabbed a fistful of N's hair and yanked his head back harshly so the boy was forced to look into his eye. "Such a disrespectful act, and you think you can be forgiven so easily?"

"No.. O-of course not..." A hand was now sliding up his bare thigh.

"You made me wait a whole extra night. That won't go unpunished."

Panic raced through him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He cried desperately, struggling weakly against the fingers tearing at his hair.

"Stop your sniveling!" Ghetsis threw N off his lap onto the floor where his head slammed hard against the stone. "Undress and get in bed before I take my riding crop to you, ungrateful whelp."

The back of his head was throbbing, but thankfully not bleeding. N got shakily to his feet and pulled off his nightdress before quickly joining Ghetsis beneath the blankets where the man already waited for him. The moment he lay down against the larger body, however, he was shoved onto his back and pressed into the mattress by the heavy weight now on top of him.

Turning his head to the side, N closed his eyes and tried to think about something else, something other than the rough hands running all over his body and the tongue licking his neck. Obediently he wrapped his legs around the man's waist and gripped the pillow beneath his head, because he was never allowed to touch more than necessary. While Ghetsis currently seemed content with taking his time, N forced his body to relax, to become numb, to forget the pain in his head and the worse pain that would soon come between his legs. To ignore the heated whispers in his ear that he was a good, beautiful boy who knew how to please.

Even though years of practice had made him very good at detaching himself from these moments, it had been a whole month, and he could not stop the cry wrenched from his throat when Ghetsis pushed into him. Tears welled up in his eyes and spilled over, and no matter how hard he clenched his teeth, with every thrust back inside he let out another yelp of pain.

"You're so tight." Ghetsis grunted. "I can barely get all the way in. Does it hurt, my little N?"

"It hurts!" N's head tossed on the pillow, a pathetic attempt to escape even as his legs clung to the man tearing him apart.

"It should hurt. I was planning on being so gentle with you when I got back, but you had to keep me waiting. You're just so much like your mother. I left you with her too long after all, and that defiant personality rubbed off on you. What will it take to beat that out of you, boy? How far do I have to go to make sure you'll never get it in your head to run away?"

"I won't leave!" N sobbed. "I won't ever! I promise! I promise!"

Ghetsis slid his hand down to where he repeatedly tore into the young king before lifting now-bloody fingers up to smear N's cheek, loving the sight he made. "You had better mean that. You know that this is the only place for you in the world. Do you think me cruel? No, even this pain is my kindness. So many things I could do to punish you, but instead I choose not to mar your perfect flesh. I am only ever kind to you, N."

"Yes.." At last he was starting to feel numb, his body limp and pliant against the assault. In a reflex his tears continued to fall, soaking his hair and the pillow beneath, but he had stopped crying. It would be over soon, and maybe if he was lucky Ghetsis would let him return to the warm bath water where he could try to soak away the pain and the stink of blood.

Ghetsis groaned, and a burning heat pooled deep inside him. Then the weight lifted, replaced with a chill and emptiness. His stiff fingers ached as he forced himself to let go of the pillow, but just as he was about to give up and pretend to be asleep, he heard the door shut and looked around to find that Ghetsis had left.

Feeling a rush of relief, N struggled to sit up. When at last he managed, however, he caught sight of something across the room that made him freeze.

It was only his reflection in the mirror, his hair wildly tangled, face flushed and eyes red from crying, and a streak of blood ran across his cheek. All he could do was stare without seeing himself, but another face he had tried for so long to remember.

The night air was cold, so N pressed himself close against his mother's bosom as she lifted him up into her arms after getting on the horse she had just finished saddling.

"Hold on tight, N." She whispered. "And remember not to make a sound."

He nodded and fisted his fingers in the fabric of her cloak, stifling a gasp as the great creature beneath them began to trot out of the stable before breaking into a gallop the moment they reached the edge of the forest.

Madeline had said they were leaving, that they were going far away where they could be outside and live happily. That this was his birthday present. N did not understand much, but he could feel her heart racing beneath his ear as she clung to him with one arm and knew she was scared despite her reassurances, so he was, too.

Then suddenly she cried out in alarm and they were flying through the air for what seemed like forever before landing with a great thud that knocked the breath from his lungs. Beneath him N heard his mother groan, and then footsteps approaching.

"I am so disappointed, Madeline." It was Ghetsis. "How could you try to leave me and run off with the future of this kingdom? You did not honestly think you could get away with it?"

N let out a small whimper when his mother rolled them over until he was pressed between her and the ground.

"You won't take him from me!" She shouted, her voice tight with pain and fear.

"We discussed this, dear sister. Now that he has turned four he no longer has any need for you. I let you keep him for two extra years because you asked so nicely, why must you still be ungrateful?"

"You can't have him, you monster! No! Let go of me! GIVE ME BACK MY SON!"

The mother and son were yanked up from the ground and arms pulled N away from Madeline. Now he was held by one of the black-clad men who served Ghetsis, while the other two forced her in front of the Sage.

"A monster, you call me? Have I been monstrous in any way? Have I been unkind?"

"I won't let you use my baby for your sick games, Ghetsis! He will grow up to be the king he wants to be, not some puppet!"

"Enough of this foolishness. You must be feeling ill, again. Come back to the castle, now. I have had your old room prepared for you; won't it be nice to sleep in a bed after so long?" He reached out to her, but at that moment she jerked out of the Triad's hold and leapt at her brother with an animalistic scream.

It was only a moment before the two ninja dragged her back, but the damage was done. At first N did not know why Ghetsis was yelling and clutching his face, but as the clouds shifted away from the moon at last, he saw a splash of deep red on his mother's cheek, a stark contrast against her pale face, blue-green eyes, and wild leaf-coloured hair. Then Ghetsis straightened and let his hands drop back to his sides. Blood spilled from his right eye and down his cheek like scarlet tears.

"You.." He growled. "JUST LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE DONE! HOW DARE YOU SCAR MY FACE! Ungrateful, defective womb! How kind I have been to you all these years, giving you the honor of keeping our sacred bloodline pure, and THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?" Now he looked at one of the Triad and held out his hand expectantly. "Your knife! Give me your knife! NOW!"

Madeline screamed and tried to run, but Ghetsis grabbed her long hair and pulled her to the ground before plunging the dagger into her chest and stomach again and again, occasionally slashing at her face and struggling arms until she stopped screaming, stopped moving, and just lay there, unrecognizable and covered in blood.

Panting heavily, Ghetsis stood up and turned to hand the dripping blade back to his subordinate before noticing N's silent stare. "What are you looking at, boy?"

"...Daddy?"

N never forgot that night, but all memory of his mother's face had faded away in the wake of his last glimpse of her. Now he stared at his reflection, stained with red just like she had been, and realized that Ghetsis was right– he did look like his mother.

Tears welled up in his eyes again and trickled down to further smear the blood. Then he clutched his hair and screamed.

Dun dun DUN! Surprising absolutely no one, N is actually Ghetsis's son! And I liked the idea someone had that N's mother would also be Ghetsis's sister because I can totally see that happening. He gets so obsessed with keeping the Harmonia bloodline pure that he'd rather have a kid with his sister than an unrelated woman, then goes on to rape his son because he's a sick bastard who probably doesn't want to touch anyone that is not a Harmonia. And I decided on the name Madeline because that's the first thing that came to me and I liked it.

Uuuu~ I was so nervous writing the rape scene because I've never done that before.. I hope I did ok.. Next chapter might take longer for me to write because there's a lot I want to put in it, which includes more rape but also some much-deserved Black/N goodness. Look forward to it~!