Chapter 2

Arthur spent much of the few following days learning the layout of the ship, where things were, and when Ivan would need them. He never called him by his name, only the title Master, which Arthur was just as happy with. Ivan was harder to pronounce than the family name for him, even though it was four little letters. One of the cooks laughed outright when he retrieved Ivan's dinner to bring to his cabin and was just repeating the name over and over, trying to make it sound like he'd heard it that first day.

"Let your tongue lay flatter. Ivan. See? It works best like that, Da?"

"Da?" Arthur asked and the man stared before grinning.

"Go to Ivan, give him his dinner, and when he's done with you, return here. I'll help you out some." The man grinned and Arthur nodded.

He seemed sincere and kind, so Arthur didn't think much of it. He ran to the room and handed the platter over, the stew still in the bowl, no splashes. He'd even taken the stein of water from the corner of the serving tray to make sure it wouldn't splash, and Ivan was curious at first. "You weren't drinking my vodka, where you?"

"The water here? No, I just wanted to make sure it didn't splash, Master. Here you are." He settled the tray with a smile as he put the mug at the side with the handle facing him. "Does this please you, Master?"

"Yes, very much." Ivan pulled up to the table.

"If it's alright, the cook seems to be willing to assist me a little with your... pronunciation. Would it be alright if I went to spend some time with him?" Arthur asked and Ivan turned to him with a smile.

"If you wish to learn, I could teach you, but I understand your interest. Go ahead, but return and tell me what you've learned when you're done." Ivan watched with a colder face and Arthur nodded, wondering if maybe he and the cook were on bad terms.

He made his way down to the kitchen, finding the man just as he returned from another hallway. "Come here." He waved Arthur over and he watched as the man's fingers moved over characters in the book before him.

"The word you heard earlier, Da, translates to 'Yes', in Russian. Repeat, Da."

"Da." Arthur stared, seeing different characters. "Are these letters Russian, then?"

"Cyrillic. Repeat after me. Да, нет."

"Da, Nyit." Arthur tried, even though he could tell he hadn't said it right.

"Нет! Ni-et! Nyet! Like that."

"Nyet."

"Da! You're improving! It's only two words, but it's a good place to start!"

"What do they mean, though?" Arthur looked at the characters, realizing those were the words he was speaking.

"Ah, Da is Yes, and Nyet is no." He watched with a smile as Arthur nodded, tracing his fingers over the characters on the book.

"Da, Nyet." He smiled, a light coming to his eyes as he felt the rush of excitement from starting something he knew would be important. "Can you teach me another word? Please?"

"Please is хотеть. Kho-teet."

"Kho-teet. Khotet." He spoke and the man nodded with an impressed smile.

"You're a fast learner." He watched as re-spoke the word. The cook found the word in the book and pointed it out, showing Arthur what he was speaking.

"Xотеть." Arthur nodded, his fingers again moving over the characters and the man frowned.

"Why do you touch over the letters like that? A different way to help you memorize?"

"Ah, I was born blind, actually. I had to learn to write by tracing letters til I memorized them. They made me a large board with the alphabet scraped into it so I could trace it with my fingers." Arthur spoke and the man behind him stilled.

"Born blind?"

"Yes, I was abandoned at birth because of it. It was weird, when I was five I was hit in the head with a ball, and it caused horrible pain. I felt like my eyes were popped out, and they gave me something for the pain. When I woke up the next day I could see." He spoke as his fingers again traced the letters before him.

"That's interesting." The man grasped Arthur's head, turning it to his gaze. He looked around Arthur's eyes and realized how large the iris was. His eyes were large, and a very vibrant shade of green. "Very interesting." He frowned as his eyes peered hard into Arthur's eyes. He was used to the motion, though, as many doctors had looked just as hard, sometimes with machines to try and see into the eyeball.

They said they couldn't figure it out.

"What in the hell is going on?" Arthur turned, seeing Ivan staring at the cook, Arthur pressed into a corner, his chin forcibly held as the other man was dangerously close.

"He's trying to look into my eyes, master." Arthur turned back to the book.

"He was born blind. He received a head injury and after a lot of pain they gave him something and it miraculously healed his eyes, Ivan." Arthur turned, realizing the cook wasn't a slave, as he'd though.

"I understand." Ivan turned to Arthur, a frown on his face. "Do you often sleepwalk? Do you have hallucinations or find it hard to see in bright light?" Ivan asked and Arthur nodded, stepping back. Something in the way their eyes met his worried Arthur greatly.

"Look at his pupils. They're stuck open. It's easy to see why he was blind, and at the same time, there's only one thing I can think of to cure it, but I doubt they knew-"

"Stop." Ivan sighed, looking at the man before him who now stood shaking against the counter.

"Am I no longer a good slave? I don't understand what's happening." Arthur asked softly, his eyes shifting between the two.

"The church you were in, after you regained your sight, did they tell you that you were evil or possessed?" Ivan asked and Arthur swallowed hard before nodding again.

"You were blind because your pupils were stuck closed. The pain medication they gave you, how many pills was it?"

"I don't remember, six? Seven?" The cook stared at Arthur with a sturdy set frown and Ivan couldn't even look at him. He turned his back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Do you still remember the taste of the pills?" Ivan asked softly and Arthur nodded.

"Yes, tart, but sweet. Like some sort of berry."

"Arthur, I am your master now." Ivan turned and Arthur could see a sturdy set frown on his face. "I tell you what you are, who you are, how you think. If need be, I can tell you to alter your past. Do you understand me?" He asked and Arthur nodded, though he honestly had no clue what had happened.

"You weren't blind as a child. It never happened." He spoke and Arthur, not understanding simply nodded. "You were never given those berries. That never happened, but the flavor, if you ever taste it, inform me immediately and try to keep your eyes closed til you're near me." He spoke and Arthur nodded again. "Repeat."

"I had a normal childhood. I tasted a berry once, and if I taste it again, I'm to close my eyes and get to you immediately." He spoke and Ivan nodded.

"You understand well. Come, I... do want to see your eyes." Ivan spoke and they went down to his cabin.

Arthur sat on the chair, looking around as Ivan moved towards the window and waved him over. "Look at my left ear." Ivan spoke and Arthur did as he was told, his eyes wide, but the light started to burn after a moment. "My right ear." Ivan spoke and the movement let Arthur's eyes move away from the light. A soft comfort seemed to come forth and Ivan leaned back, staring at the man before him.

"You hallucinate sometimes?"

"I've been known to see faeries and unicorns and such. I was often picked on for it when I was younger, but now I try to ignore them as much as possible." He nearly whispered and Ivan stared.

"Do they speak to you?" Arthur nodded. "What do they say?"

"Things old friends would say. They ask me about my day, tell me about deals and sales they saw at the store. I had one give me a weather update." He rolled his eyes and Ivan stared.

"Are they accurate?" He asked and Arthur had to think.

"Usually I blow them off, so I don't know... but I think they are, now that you mention it." He thought and Ivan frowned.

Either he was actually seeing something unbelievable, or his mind was connecting things in different ways, like someone else thinking unparalleled thoughts in his own mind, and the hallucinations were the subconscious' way to let him know about what it had discovered.

Either way, this was going to be much more fun than he'd expected.

His eyes were blown permanently. Magic never seemed to do much, but it might be possible for the castle's witch to heal the vessel in his eye that was still causing him the solar discomfort.

"If they speak to you, tell me immediately what they say. I want to know what is stated. If anyone asks about them, you see them because I told you to and for no other reason, Da?"

"Da." Arthur nodded.

Ivan watched a curious smile as he leaned back. "Is that what Tono taught you?"

"Tono?" Arthur watched as Ivan nodded, a smile playing at the corner of his lip.

"He was abandoned in Japan for a while, and he'd forgotten his name, so I hired him as my cook. He's good at it, but too much fish sometimes. He was teaching you Russian?"

"Only Da, Nyet and Khotet." Arthur spoke with a little pride as Ivan nodded.

"Good. I'm glad you have an interest in learning, as you'll eventually need to be proficient in Russian. That's where you'll be living from now on, after all."

"In Russian?" Arthur frowned, trying to remember if he'd ever seen a country by that name on the map.

"Russia. It's next to the Nordic circle and China."

"Nordic Circle? I spent all of my time studying and I have never heard of any of this. I feel a bit useless." Arthur sighed as he looked away and Ivan shook his head.

"A controlled information area is good with an island like that. It keeps people from realizing the errors of the ways they're taught. No one wants to leave if they believe they're in the right, Da?"

"Da. Is this... common? I didn't even think about it. Am I just... stupid for not knowing these things?" Arthur asked and Ivan leaned on his hand, his eyes roving over the man before him.

"You're too caught up in yourself. Remember, you belong to me. Your knowledge and experience are now my own. It doesn't matter what you learned in the past. It's a good stepping stone. What you need to know I will teach you. What you don't' need to know, don't worry about. Here." Ivan sat and turned, looking over a bookshelf beside the desk. He looked over before pulling a book from the wall and smiled, looking over the cover. "It's a book on the Cyrillic alphabet, as well as a few words. I will help you with pronunciation. If you get through this book, come to me. I will quiz you and give you another."

"Yes, Master." Ivan watched as Arthur traced over the letters on the front of the book, carving them into his memory. "Is there anything else you need of me for now?"

"Eager to learn, Da? You can sit on the lounge. If you need another candle, let me know." Ivan started to turn away when Arthur frowned.

"Sir, I don't need candles. Half of my reading is done by feeling the letters. I can feel them regardless of the light in the room."

"You can read in the dark... That might come in handy. Still, bad lighting isn't good for your eyes. Take care of your health, it's not your body anymore that you stress." Ivan spoke and Arthur nodded.

He understood the sentiment, and was absolutely terrified that he felt comfortable with any of this. He just accepted he belonged to someone now. He could have just escaped, jumped from the ship and swam to shore. He'd seen it yesterday. It wasn't too far away. Therefore, why on earth was he just laying back and accepting this man as his master? He was prideful! He was arrogant and surly!

He wanted to learn, and he just discovered the whole world was larger than his imagination had thought. He would learn about things he never imagined he'd ever find before. He sat on the lounge and glanced up, seeing Ivan returned to work on the books and papers on his desk and just sat for a moment, watching him. "Is there something wrong?" Ivan asked, feeling the gaze of the other.

"I was very scared when I came here. Slavery, we're taught, is practically being chained to the wall, beaten, raped and worked with no breaks or food til you drop dead. I offered you my loyalty, scared that it would end in a quick death for me. I'm surprised to find this isn't nearly as terrible as I was expecting, Master. Thank you for that." Arthur spoke and Ivan watched, surprised for a moment before smiling.

"You're thanking me for my graciousness before you've even reached my house. There will be work, chores, errands and such for you. Don't thank me quite yet, little slave." He grinned and Arthur swallowed hard, nodding.

This man was scary after all!