Hey! So I figured I should mention at this point, the updates may not be daily. Though my beta is a miracle worker, which you can tell if you've ever read any of my other stories, she, unlike me, has a life.

CrypticButterfly, seriously, you're amazing. Thank you soooo much!

I'd also like to thank everyone for the warm comments! The first chapter normally doesn't have many, as people wait til the story gets going before bothering to decide whether they like it or not, but I didn't get that at all! You guys are awesome!

Anywho, on with the show!

Disclaimer- (As this will probably be the only serious one in the story, read my other stories for examples) This does not belong to me! I may have written it, but the characters belong to Hikekaz-Sama!

Chapter 2

Ivan woke a bit late in the day, taking a while to recover from the night before. He had worked hard, fighting off the spell that Arthur had shocked him with, as well as chasing the little shit down, but he'd managed to come back aboard with his head held high and the boy over his shoulder. He sat up with a yawn, seeing the boy hanging still, unmoving and as pale as could be. He was shivering and shaking in the cold air of the room.

"Are you awake already?" Ivan asked, standing and walking over, bending down to look at his face. Arthur was still asleep. His hand reached out, feeling the chill of his skin, realizing he'd fallen ill in the cool breeze of the night air.

He sighed and shook his head as he stood to full height. Vladimir might be able to heal him. He didn't want to have to wait for him to heal naturally before he started playing with his new toy after all.

Ivan walked out to the deck of the ship, letting a smile creep onto his face. The ship was large, as they needed to keep the eighty or so passengers, as well as the children they were able to bring, back home comfortably. It was new and solid, the nearly nonstop patter of feet and shoes against the wood deck oddly comforting against the gentle splashing of the sea they crossed. The captain's quarters, being the only part of the ship that was on the deck, stood tall on the back of the ship, a wooden staircase heading to the crow's nest and wheel above, with a small boiler room for hot water to come through the ship. Ivan couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he turned and looked over the room, Francis, one of his most trusted advisers, standing above on the control deck, steering while obviously flirting with one of the other crewmates. Ivan's chuckle grew louder as he turned away, hearing a loud smack that didn't seem to still the sounds around him of children playing and crashing waves.

Ivan's eyes traveled over the deck, wondering if anyone else thought it looked like a pirate ship, but the thought was wiped from his mind at the joy of seeing many of his crew from yesterday playing carefully, earning the trust and joy of the children they'd had to take. The babies didn't seem as bothered, but the toddlers were a little more wary of their situation. A couple seemed to be upset after spending the night thinking over their new circumstances, but the new parents just allowed them to gather, taking comfort in the fact they weren't alone, watching with worry.

Ivan's eyebrow shifted up, the corners of his mouth tilting in worry as he started looking over at the darker corner where the troubled children were gathered. He walked up slowly trying not to startle the already trembling and whispering babes. He looked down over the children who stared up in absolute and utter horror at seeing someone as tall and intimidating as the man before them. He knelt down to one knee, looking at the children and reached out, softly patting their heads.

"What's wrong, little ones?" He asked softly. He knew, but he wanted to hear them say it, maybe find a way to counteract their fears.

"Are you going to kill us? You killed Mommy and Daddy," one girl whimpered and Ivan frowned.

"No, child. We won't hurt you. The ones over there, watching you..." Ivan watched as the children turned, seeing the adults watching with worry. "They would like to be your new parents. You were brought with us just to be loved and cared about. Will you let them try?" he asked. His voice was soft and with genuine worry on his face the children felt a little more comfortable. He may be tall and muscular, but they were easily able to see he wasn't that bad of a person.

"Why do they want us? We already had mothers and fathers," one of the girls asked and Ivan let out a contemplative hum, trying to find the best words to respond with.

"Yes, you did, and I'm sorry that this is so different and scary for you, but the only thing we can do to try and make it up to you is to try and make sure you all live happy lives. When you're older, we'll be able to explain clearly so that you understand, but for now, I think it would be for the best to try and adjust. Play with the other children. Get to know your new mothers and fathers. They may be different from what you're used to, but they may be kinder and more loving than you understand, if you give them that chance." Ivan watched as the children looked at each other, curious and worried, all the same.

"Who are you?" one little boy asked and Ivan smiled, patting him on the head.

"I'm Ivan, the king of the land we're sailing to. It's colder than what you're used to, but it's very lively and happy where we are going. There will be a lot of new things to adjust to, but I think you'll learn to enjoy the new lives you'll have. Have any of you ever went ice skating before?" he asked and one little girl nodded while the rest stared with wide eyes. He smiled, hearing excited murmurs as a few more children heard his question and came over, curious as to what the huge man before them would say. "We have a lake right by the city. It's frozen through most of the year, so you'll all get to try and learn how. We also do a lot of fishing if any of you are interested in that."

"Mommy said I couldn't go fishing. She said the fish would eat me!" One little girl shivered, now afraid and Ivan stared, surprised for a moment before laughing out loud.

"I think your mother may have been afraid of you being pulled in! Fish don't eat people!" He grinned, his eyes shining in mirth as the girl stared, gawking.

"Then what do they eat?!" she nearly squawked, earning another laugh from the man.

"They eat worms, or smaller fish! How big were the fish where you were from?" he asked with a grin as the girl held out her arms, showing about two foot. "Do you think, with their tiny mouths, that you would even fit in a fishes mouth?" The girl turned red in embarrassment.

"What about Arthur? Are you going to kill him?" another little girl asked and Ivan looked down, surprised to find anger instead of worry on her face.

"Why would I kill him?" Ivan asked, now curious over what he'd gotten himself into.

"He uses magic!" the first little girl whispered and the others nodded.

"He doesn't have any friends, and he talks to himself! Daddy said he's a crazy witch!"

"My mommy said it was because his parents died. They said he went crazy and sold his soul to the devil in exchange for the magic to see their ghosts, and it worked!" A collective shiver went through the group.

This might be a problem, Ivan realized.

"Is magic a bad thing where you're from?" Ivan asked and the kids all nodded, a look of disgust crossing their little faces. "So this is evil?" Ivan's voice took a tone of wonder as he held up his hand and the air around it shifted, water forming into a crystal over his palm as it froze, creating a shimmering snowflake in his hand. It spun delicately in the air, more moisture from the humid sea air coming in, creating something more dazzling than the children had seen before.

"What is that?" one little boy asked with obvious amazement and Ivan smiled.

"It's magic," Ivan spoke and the kids all looked up to him in shock for a moment. "Magic is the ability to use things in nature that the rest of the world might not be able to. It's not a bad thing, just... different. I can play with wind, water and ice. I can make wonderful statues out of it, and always end up playing in the snow when I get the chance. It's a comfort to me, being surrounded with something I love so much. Now, does that sound evil to you?" The kids winced, shaking their heads.

"Can others do magic here?" one little boy asked and Ivan gave a soft sigh, unable to hide a slight relaxation when he understood it was more intrigue than fear in the boy's voice.

"Most of the people here can do magic. They can also teach you, if you wish to learn, but everyone has a different talent, a different type of magic, based on what's in your heart," Ivan spoke, poking one girl in the chest, right over her heart.

"...I'm a witch too," another little girl nearly whimpered, afraid of the anger or hatred of the others.

"Really? What can you do, little one?" Ivan asked with a smile and the girl looked up, covering her eyes. Ivan watched as she started a chant, seeing a faint glow as the woman who was to become her mother stepped up behind her, watching with interest as the girl wove her spell, unsure of what kind of magic it was.

The girl stopped chanting and yanked her hands away from her eyes, staring at Ivan with shock and horror. She stepped back, grasping the hands of the nearest children she could reach and stepped away slowly, refusing to move her eyes from him.

"You're a monster..." She whimpered, tears coming to her eyes. "You know he did nothing wrong, but you still do that to him..." She cried and Ivan stared, seeing the other children turn to him with worry.

"What did I do?" he asked, his head tilted gently to the side. Ivan couldn't keep from narrowing his eyes in curiosity as he stared, his hands coming forward, nervously playing with a hem in the inside of his knee.

"You haven't yet, but you will. I can see the future," she spoke softly and Ivan stood, the glares the children gave him not settling well on his heart. "You hurt him. You break him down, though he's done nothing wrong, even by your standards. You're a horrible man, Ivan Braginsky!" She yelled out before turning to the woman who was to be her new parent. She hiccuped before wrapping her arms around the woman's legs and started to sob.

Ivan took this as his cue and nearly ran from the deck, heading below.

Vladimir was easy to find, assisting the cook with the meals for the day, but when Ivan mentioned he needed his talents the other simply rolled his eyes, shaking his head with a slight smile. "Don't tell me you broke your new slave already." He chuckled, watching with warm red eyes. Vladimir was remarkably smaller than Ivan, only coming up to the top of his chest. Long red hair, to match his eyes, brushed over his shoulders, with one patch before his right ear hanging down to his chest. A single fang from the right side of his mouth made his smile uneven. It wasn't something Ivan was unfamiliar with, having the same type of smile.

"He fell ill," Ivan mumbled before letting out an exasperated sigh, his brows knitting in discomfort. Vladimir turned to the cook who nodded, seeing an unsettled look on Ivan's face. It only took a moment until his apron was off and he followed Ivan to his room, seeing the boy now awake, looking around in a haze, his eyes seeming almost unable to settle on one thing for long.

"Hey kid, where are you?" Vladimir asked, trying to figure out how bad he actually was as the hair on the boy's head stood on end as his eyes shifted, staring at Vladimir with wide, unfocused but alert eyes. The look of horror and shock nearly caused him to stop breathing as he watched panic course through the boy before him.

"I can't see him... I can't find him... Where is he?" Arthur glanced around, again in a panic as he searched the room, his eyes running over Ivan without a thought, though at first he was sure the boy was looking for him.

"Who are you looking for?" Vladimir asked and Arthur mumbled.

"My bunny... he's green and he flies and he talks and I can't see him here... Did you kill him?" Arthur turned back to the red haired man with tears in his eyes.

"He's gone delusional. Maybe seeing everything he did yesterday broke his mind." Vladimir turned to Ivan with a frown and the other shook his head.

"No, he's not delusional. It's just something he can see that we cannot." Ivan started to understand the words the children were saying. He spoke to someone who wasn't there.

It wasn't his parents, it was this rabbit.

"He has a sight gift. Just ignore it for now. Maybe he'll remember once he's feeling better." Ivan sighed as Vladimir nodded and slid a hand over the boy's head and heart.

Arthur could feel the breaking of the cold, a horrible shiver running through him as his illness was sped up, his fever peaking and breaking, and his body starting to feel less heavy. It was almost worse, he realized, as his wrists were now aching from holding him up all night.

"All better?" Vladimir asked and Arthur nodded, watching the man before him. The redhead pulled back his hands before turning to Ivan. "Don't break him too much!" He chuckled before walking away.

Arthur tucked his head down, realizing he was now alone in the room with Ivan. He wasn't as terrifying last night, for some reason, but today he couldn't stop shaking at the realization of what had happened. When the man stepped around before him, he could only stare ahead in horror, not sure he wanted to understand what was happening. Ivan pulled a knife from his hip and brought it down, ripping the front of Arthur's away before taking it to the sleeves, pulling the shirt off with no resistance. Arthur clenched his eyes. He hated it when his skin showed like this! He was mortified when the knife was taken to his hip, the top of his pants being cut away as well.

"What are you doing?!" Arthur gasped, trying to move away from the blade, but the chains on his wrists only allowed him about an inch.

"Whatever the hell I want. You're my slave now. Remember that, boy." Ivan frowned, glaring down and Arthur just stared ahead in horror as the knife was brought back to his hip.

"No!" Arthur tried again to fight and Ivan reached up, smacking him hard across the face.

"You are my slave! It's only right for me to be able to look over what I now own. If you fight me again, I'll put your nudity to use," he warned and Arthur bit his lips closed, his eyes clenching as he turned his head away, refusing to look at the man at all now. Ivan finished his cut before turning to the other side, cutting all the way down and grasped the front of the now useless cloth, pulling it away.

It was horrible. Arthur felt his cheeks burn in embarrassment as Ivan looked over his body, now completely naked before him. Ivan glanced over his arms, thin and weak, but with scars occasionally over his skin. Ivan walked around, looking over his back. Thin and almost feminine in his curves. He noticed his legs were a tad thicker, showing he walked quite a bit, and the hair that covered them was something he wasn't expecting either. He walked back around, reaching down and quickly grasped his balls, squeezing. Arthur let out a strangled yelp at the sudden pain, now absolutely terrified.

Ivan realized nearly instantly at the weight in his hand that the boy was older than he'd thought. "How old are you, slave?"

"My name is Arthur!" he grunted out, trying to force the words out around the uncomfortable feeling that was now lodging itself in his throat. "I'm sixteen! Please, let go! It hurts!" He whimpered as the hand clenched tighter instead.

"That name no longer applies to you. You are no longer Arthur. Remember that, slave." Ivan narrowed his eyes and Arthur let out a pained groan as Ivan clenched his hand harder. Arthur nodded, unable to handle the clenching of his testicles and nearly choked when they were released. It wasn't until after that he realized what he'd agreed to and he ground his teeth as he sucked in another breath around the lump in his throat. He could feel tears on his cheeks, but wasn't able to stop them.

His friends were all gone and dead, his faeries weren't even here, and he was stuck, naked in a room with a man who threatened to rape him, who he'd unconsciously agreed to be the slave of. "Kill me," he nearly whispered out and Ivan stilled, staring with wide eyes.

"Why would I do that?" Ivan crossed his arms, a smile coming to his face and Arthur shivered, feeling the darkness in his mind seep over him.

"You killed my only friend. I'm completely alone. You've stolen my dignity as well as my name from me. The least you could do is kill me quickly, rather than to stretch it out. Just... kill me." He glared up and Ivan frowned. The fire in his eyes was something he would normally enjoy, but after those words, Ivan feared it.

That would need to be remedied. Ivan laughed as he looked at the boy, now feeling his head spin with power and anger. "You're going to be fun to break, slave. You're embarrassed to be naked before me? I wonder how much worse we can make this for you," he whispered as he walked behind him, sliding a hand over his hip and shoulder, pulling back his hips to meet the front of Ivan's crotch. Arthur gasped, feeling himself nearly gag at the thought before Ivan leaned forward, laying his chin over the thin shoulder before him.

"Standing here naked before me, being touched by my hand, and still, you're not enough to make me hard. The breaking of dignity was done by your genetics, not by my knife. You want me to kill you? I want to make you suffer. The man you killed, running him through with his own blade, he was a friend of mine."

"So we're even, then! He was trying to kill my friend! If he didn't want to die, maybe he shouldn't have chosen to be in a battle! I at least had no idea what was happening!" Arthur yelled out as Ivan's fingers raked down his back, his nails pulling away skin as Arthur yelled out at the pain.

"You should have stood up at the meeting then."

"What meeting?!" Arthur yelled out and Ivan stilled.

Ivan thought back, trying to remember the meeting they'd had three days ago. Had he seen this face at the village's court? He walked around, grasping him by the chin and looked his face over.

Those green eyes. He would have remembered such a color of emerald.

He couldn't have stood up. He hadn't been there. "Then you should have come."

"I don't know what meeting you're talking about!" Arthur yelled out, half in pain, half in panic as Ivan frowned.

"We said all citizens of the city were to be there. Don't tell me they didn't invite you, little slave." Ivan grinned, but now this felt wrong. He had no say in what had happened. His own city didn't consider him important enough to send word to. He saw a total lack of recollection in his eyes and Ivan understood. "We held a meeting with your city, as a whole. We told them they had until the next day to decide. We would return and they either had to hand over the children of the village, or we would decimate it with them still inside. When we showed up, the children were tied up, left in the sun on the beach to wait for us. If a village meets us with weapons drawn, we pass them by. If they're willing to fight for their children, then they deserve to keep them. Your village didn't choose to do so. By the time we arrived, they were hungry and overheated, the villagers had placed them far enough away so they wouldn't hear their cries. They died because they didn't deserve to live. They didn't deserve to keep their children." Ivan glared, and Arthur just stared back, horrified over what the village had done.

"They abandoned them..." Arthur swallowed hard and Ivan nodded.

"And you're one of them." He glared and Arthur shook his head.

"I'm not! I didn't live in the village! My house was a distance away! I was only there at all because two boys ran into my house, bringing your men to me! If they hadn't been lead that way, I'd still be at home right now!" He yelled.

"And where are those boys now?" Ivan asked and Arthur stilled.

"I tried to help them! It's not my fault your men were able to see through my invisibility! What in the hell was I supposed to do?!" Arthur yelled out in panic. He tugged at the chain, slamming forward and glaring into the violet eyes before him before Ivan slapped him again.

"Yell again and it may turn me on after all." He glared and Arthur swallowed, cowering back and pursing his lips. He watched as Ivan turned and walked, and finally released his breath when he heard the door open and close behind him, the heavy boot falls of the other letting him know he was now alone. He waited, hoping he wouldn't be heard before he let out a slight sob at the situation he'd found himself in.

"Did anyone you fought use magic?" Ivan asked person after person, all saying no. The ship was large, he knew he hadn't spoken to everyone yet. On the other hand, he'd asked nearly everyone he could, and told them to tell the crew if anyone had heard of magic being used during the fight to come to him immediately. He sat on the deck, watching the children play, and though a few of the older ones now seemed wary of him, he now felt he deserved it.

Arthur had done no wrong. He was defending his friend, the only one in the village who had fought back instead of hiding themselves away or just running like cowards.

But after an hour, with no one coming to talk to him, he frowned. Word spread fast on a ship like this. Ivan had stayed still, in the open. He had made sure he would be easy to find. Everyone would know by now about him asking about magic during the battle. He stood and nodded.

Now, with no word meeting his ear, he understood the situation a little clearer and with less guilt.

He walked in, seeing the sagging form in the handcuffs and walked up with a frown. "You lied to me."