When Ylre returned to the inn where he was temporarily staying, Rue was standing outside the entrance, waiting contentedly. Ylre smiled lightly, "I'm here, shall we go in ?"
“Did you resolve it?” Rue wondered.
Ylre nooded, "Yes, all set up," He opened the door, allowing Rue to enter.
They walked slowly to the inn, where the mood seemed lively despite the evening hour. Against the entrance was a long reception desk, behind which the elderly owner of the business stood. The rest of the space was filled with tables full of the people, giving it more of a pub feel.
Ylre found one of the free tables near the stairs and sat down. Rue followed him and looked around contentedly, "Do you live here?" He wondered.
"Temporary," Ylre nodded and handed Rue the food menu, "I'm traveling, I just stopped by." He clarified.
"Me too," Rue smiled contentedly and looked at the list of unfamiliar dishes, "what should we drink?" He asked.
“Since I drank your mead, I'll buy you a new one…and as for food…I'd recommend something light since it's evening…maybe sweet.” He moved his hand down to the desserts where his finger stopped on the apple pie.
"Cake," Rue remembered, "I forgot." He looked towards the exit.
"I'll buy you a new one," Ylre smiled.
"You don't have to, I have money," He objected.
"Today it's on me...you can invite me somewhere next time," He knew he already suggested it in the game room.
Rue thought about it for a moment, before nodding, "I will."
As soon as he had chosen, one of the waitresses stopped by their table and gave them a gentle smile, as if her job was her pleasure: "Good evening, have you chosen?"
"Two apple pies and two meads," Ylre said, whereupon the waitress wrote down the order and disappeared again.
“Do you like apple pie too?” Rue asked excitedly.
"Of course," Ylre smiled, gently propping his chin with his hand before looking at Rue with pleasure, "but I haven't eaten it in a long time, I'm glad you gave me the chance." He added.
"Me?" He blinked.
"I wouldn't go to dinner alone," Ylre smiled.
"Ah," Rue understood and moved on to the topic that he was interested in, "I wanted to ask something. When you travel, where are you actually heading?"
Ylre smiled, "I don't know... I just want to see new places. I think the best thing about traveling is when you don't have a destination...you stop where you want, do what you want, stay as long as you want and keep going until you come across the next place that piques your interest."
"I think the same," Rue's eyes lit up with enthusiasm, whereupon he gently approached Ylre across the table, "Have you been to many places?"
Ylre smiled softly, "I was."
"Where, for example?" He wondered.
"I would like to say everywhere...but one keeps finding new places," he laughed, however I've been to every country. But I spent the most time in Equil, in a village called Mellia."
“Mellia?” Rue blinked as the name was familiar to him, “In Equil.”
Ylre looked at him for a moment before he smiled softly and continued, "It's a nice village, one of the few that keeps and cherishes its history and honors its ancestors for over three hundred years...it's beautiful there and the people are the friendliest to strangers," he clarified.
"I think I've heard of it before," he mused.
"I wouldn't be surprised...it's known for more things than historical interests," Ylre said.
"What else?" Rue asked as he really couldn't remember where he had heard the name.
"For example, there is an apple tree," he began, "it blooms all year round. It is protected and is said to grant wishes." He clarified.
"Wishes?" Rue didn't understand.
"Supposedly it can replenish luck," Ylre laughed, "It's their most valuable place, the people of Equil believe in anything that gives them a chance of getting more luck than they were born with. I haven't seen that ever happen, but supposedly there was one case in the past...when there could be one, there could be two...and when there could be two, it could work on other people."
"Interesting," he nodded as the waitress placed apple pies with drinks in front of them.
"Anything else?" She wondered.
"No," Ylre said, moving his fork to Rue's cake, "I just thought of it when I see how much you love apples." He clarified.
Rue looked at the apple pie and smiled gently: "Yes, apples will fill you up, reduce your thirst, they are sweet, you can make many kinds of food of them and you can buy them cheaply, or you find them in nature," he happily cut a slice of the cake.
Ylre watched as he put a piece in his mouth and smiled in satisfaction before doing the same, “You're right.” He nodded.
“I'd like to see it,” Rue commented after enjoying the taste of the cake for a moment.
"The village or the apple tree?" He asked.
"Everything," Rue pointed out, "is it somewhere far away? Can you tell me how to get there?" He wondered.
Ylre just smiled softly, "In a little while it will be a year since I've been there... I'm planning to visit it again," he began, " if you want, we could-" he tried, when his words were broken by a loud voice.
"How did that bastard get here?!" Rue heard a familiar voice. He looked at the staircase from which Laren was staring at him. He was obviously drunk, so he didn't have his usual restrains.
The young man, who had caught him drinking water from the river the forest this morning, ran up to them and aggressively hit the table until their mead almost spilled.
"Did you follow me here?! It's because of you that Prince Nielle got mad at me today...yet you still dare to come here, bastard!" He raised his voice as a pair of guards caught up with him from the stairs.
"Laren, calm down, I heard it was your own fault, don't make a fuss, shut up," one advised.
"My fault?! This Lacrisan was stealing water from the river, he's suspected of theft, but he's walking around town freely. I caught him and it´s my fault that I got punished! You know what? Don't talk to me, I'm not in the mood for your moronic bullshit!” He snapped.
After Prince Nielle and Rue left the camp, he had to ask one of the guys for the punishment that Nielle gave him. Fifteen lashes weren´t strong, and everyone already knew how to spare him only to fulfill the prince's orders, but that didn't change the fact that his whole back was on fire. If it weren't for this weird guy, he would never have upset the prince today, and Laren knew it.
"Guards! Throw him out! Kick him out now!” He yelled at the pair of guards at the entrance who looked confused at Laren.
Everyone in town knew him, everyone knew he was one of the important men in Nielle's service, but everyone also knew he had a tendency to overdo things. Especially when he got drunk at his young age. However, no one wanted Laren to run to the prince and make trouble for someone, as he was usually reliable and Nielle always verified his words by questioning the suspects. That's why no one wanted to be on his bad side, even though he often behaved inappropriately.
"What's going on?" They walked up to the table where another pair of guards and Laren were already standing.
“This Lacrisan is a suspect in cases of theft, moreover, he stole water from the river...I will not sleep under the same roof with someone I am investigating!" he clarified and glared at Rue with a hostile expression, "Bastard." He growled, but the second the guards approached the table, Ylre stood up abruptly.
Everyone stopped and measured him in confusion.
"Get closer and you won't need a roof to sleep anymore," he said irritated, after which Rue finally spoke lightly and stood up.
"It's just a misunderstanding, I spoke with Prince Nielle, I'm not a suspect, it has been just a misunderstanding," he smiled at the guards.
“It´s true, I heard Prince Nielle let him go…Laren, what are you doing?” one of the guards sighed.
“Don't listen to him! Even though the prince let him go, he's still a suspect to me and should be in prison," he growled, but the moment Ylre stepped forward and stood between him and Rue, he backed away, "what do you think you're doing?"
"And you?" Ylre glared at him with his blue pupils, "What do you think you're doing?"
"Laren, calm down," one of the guards pulled him back.
"Me?" He grumbled.
"When Prince Nielle said he´s clear, he is. Isn´t your job listening to his commands?" The guard asked,
"I always act in the prince's interest," Laren clarified.
"He had you flogged because you pissed him off while you were dragging the case, didn't he?" he reminded, "When he finds out that you're going to keep making a mess here, what do you think he's going to do?"
Laren fell silent for a moment, thinking. He was quiet for a moment before glancing at Ylre and tried to look back at Rue. Ylre took a step to the side, blocking his view. After a while he sighed and backed away:
"I wonder who will rent you a room tonight! Anyone who does so will have a problem! Do you hear?!" He shouted and stormed out of the inn, probably to inform the nearby businesses to whom they shouldn´t provide shelter for the night.
The guards sighed deeply and parted. Ylre and Rue were left alone again.
“What a weird child.” Rue laughed softly, confused by his behavior.
Ylre glared at the door, "I think we'd better go back to the room," he clarified, giving Rue a gentler look.
"He said that no one would rent me one," he recalled, "but that´s okay, I´ll sleep outside, I haven't slept in the open space in years." He didn't think it was a problem and started to leave when Ylre gently stopped him.
"I'll take care of it," he promised.
"You don't have to," Rue smiled gently, "I don't mind sleeping outside, the forest is a nice place, and I wanted to see the stars for long time." He explained happily.
"You can go for a night walk, but it's not safe to sleep outside at night. Someone will rob you, at best," he clarified.
"Really?" Rue was surprised, not understanding why anyone would do that, "Why?"
"Because that's how people are,” Ylre explained, "Wait a minute." He stated, walking towards the front desk while Rue looked behind him in confusion. It took a while for Rue to follow him and stop at the stairs as if he didn't know if it was appropriate for him to get involved,
Ylre stood in front of the reception desk, "You heard what happened. He´s my friend, I want you to let him sleep here today," he said to the owner.
"You heard," said the man, uninterested in unnecessary conflicts, "Laren is an idiot, but somehow Prince Nielle takes his words for granted, I don't want to close it here, because his Black guards will run in here. I won't rent the room." He clarified.
"I don't want a room, I'll take him with me," he took out a bag from his inner pocket and placed it on the counter, "when you're afraid of losing the inn, you can always buy a new one." He laughed and discreetly pulled out a beautiful diamond crystal from his pouch.
The man looked at him in shock, covered his hand in a second, as if he was afraid that someone would notice the precious stone and said: "Where did you get it?" He whispered.
"It doesn't matter. The important thing is that it'll be yours if you don't make trouble and let him sleep here," he nodded towards the stairs at Rue, who meanwhile was talking to the waitress who offered him something.
The man looked at him doubtfully for a moment, after which Ylre sighed and withdrew his hand: "Okay, if you don't want to, there will be another inn in town that will accept the offer," he said, after which the man grabbed him sharply.
"I didn't say I wouldn't take it," he said, "I can buy two inns with that stone, if you really give it to me, feel free to stay here as long as you want." He declared.
Ylre smiled softly, "Just for today," he said, leaving the man with a stone that an ordinary person could barely see in his life.
He almost started to leave before he turned back and said: "One more thing, I have a restless sleep and when I wake up, I can be hostile...if by chance someone breaks into our room looking for more money, there is a chance that he won't get out alive," he laughed, "take note that I warned you." He clarified and went after Rue, who was already having fun with two people.
When he saw him, he gently nodded: "Can I stay?" He wondered, while the waitress and the guard, with whom he was chatting, went back to work.
Ylre nodded, "But you will sleep in my room, if you don´t mind.”
“I don´t, thank you," Rue smiled happily.
Ylre took the rest of the mead and cake from the table and went to his room with Rue. Upstairs, they turned right, passing several doors before entering one. The enthusiasm emanating from Rue was palpable as he measured the pleasant looking, not the largest, room. To the right was a single bed with a small bedside table and a window against the door. Next to it stood a wardrobe with a bench and an armchair in the corner of the room. Everything was wooden and only the white carpet in the middle of the floor added a little color to the room.
However, the first thing that caught Rue's attention was the bedside table with a translucent vase in which stood a single white rose.
"Sweet."
"It would be a shame to throw it away," Ylre commented, placing the remains of the cake on the table, "Do you want a drink?" He sat down.
Rue nodded, took one glass, handed the other to Ylre and sat down on the bed next to him. Ylre smiled softly and held out his own glass t Rue, intending to drink with him.
It took a while before he realized what he was doing and gently clinked his glass with his own: "Luckily," he said, and drank to his heart's content.
"Luckily," Ylre drank and after a while put the empty glass on the table.
Rue smiled with a pleasant taste on his tongue: "Yum."
"Do you like it?" Ylre asked.
"It has a strange taste, but I like it," he nodded, "where did we end up?" Rue wondered. He was really interested in travel chatter, so he wasn't going to miss the opportunity to talk with someone who had visited every country, while he had been locked up.
"I asked you if you would like to go to Equil with me, I think you would like that village... and that apple tree is really special," Ylre smiled.
Rue considered for a moment before stating, “I'd like to sometimes, but for now I want to be in the city…check out the local places,” he clarified.
Ylre, who knew he couldn't push for something like that, so as not to scare Rue off, nodded, "Would you like to hear where it's worth going the most?" He asked, and when Rue nodded enthusiastically, he started.
He talked about everything, he told Rue, how the world worked, what are the most beautiful places he could find in them, and how to behave in each country, although Rue didn´t understand most of it. However, Ylre was taking his time. He explained what international relations are like. He explained the hostile attitude between the Lacrisans and the Rinselans...that neither country loved or hated Equil, but the Equil hated both foreign nations out of jealousy. He explained that despite all the disagreements, the world is in harmony, because when any country wants to take initiative, there is always something to keep it by other two in check.
And Rue just listened. Sometimes he asked more about some place that interested him, about some rule that struck him as strange...but still he didn't hear a quarter of what he wanted and he was amazed at everything that Ylre told him.
"How do you know all this?" He wondered.
"I say... I travel, one learns," Ylre commented.
"I've always wanted to travel," Rue admitted contentedly and daydreamed.
"I didn't...but my master loved traveling...and I got used to it over time," he laughed.
"Your master?" Rue didn't understand.
Ylre nodded, "He was a bit like you," he said, "everything fascinated him, he wanted to see everything, and he dragged me everywhere even though I was incapable."
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"Incapable?" Rue didn't associate the unpleasant word with him.
"My only job is to protect him, but he always protects me," he laughed.
"Protect?" Rue was intrigued as he finally realized what Ylre's job was, "So you're a guard?" He was interested.
"Something like that...more like a personal bodyguard...but as I say...mostly incompetent, that's why I ended up in a different position." He laughed. Ylre, like every mid-class Infey, had his master from the highest class, whose luck he accepted in the past, whom he protected and whose orders he followed...although he currently received one of the kings.
"I think you're doing well, you've taken care of everything today," Rue supported him.
Ylre laughed gently, but didn´t answer.
"Do you travel together? Where is he now?” Rue wondered.
"We used to...but we had disagreements, it was my fault. After we broke up, I started to miss it, so I started traveling alone from time to time, although he doesn't expect anything from me anymore. But that's okay," he said.
They looked at each other for a moment as if Rue didn't know what to say before he gently pulled himself close and said soothingly, "It's not your fault, if he was a good person, you would have solved this with words."
"Some things words won't solve," Ylre clarified, "but that doesn't matter now...traveling is fun even when I am alone...but it's always better when we are two." He clarified.
Rue looked at him for a while before he realized that he could help Ylre with his problem: "If you really want...I could go with you. I just wanted to stay here for a few days…but if you go later…I could go with you.” He promised.
Ylre smiled softly, "Really?"
"Really...you're right, it's better to travel with someone," he nodded.
Ylre looked at him with pleasure: "Are you tired?" He wondered.
"Just a little," Rue admitted.
"We can go to bed...let's see the rest of the city tomorrow," he suggested.
"Okay," Rue agreed, looking around the room, "where should I sleep?" he was interested.
"Take the bed, I'll sleep in the chair," Ylre pointed out and went to the closet, from which he took a rather thin sheet. He handed a thicker one to Rue, took one of the sheets himself and sat down in the chair.
"Really?" he couldn't believe it, "Don't you want to sleep in the bed?"
"I'm used to falling asleep wherever I lay down," he explained, "get a good night's sleep."
“Really?” Rue still wasn't sure.
"Really, if you think it's unfair, you can invite me to breakfast tomorrow." Ylre laughed.
Rue thought for a moment before nodding and lying down, "Okay, I'll invite you," he smiled, and since he was slightly exhausted, he really covered himself up with the intention of going to sleep, "Good night." He looked at Ylre in the chair.
"Good night," Ylre smiled, and Rue closed his eyes. Ylre watched him for a moment before getting up and blowing out the candle on the bedside table. He returned to the chair, covered himself with the blanket, and fixed his eyes on the young man on the bed, who seemed to have fallen asleep within seconds. He wasn't surprised at all, since he had spent the last two hundred years in a cell.
Ylre looked at him calmly, a soft smile playing on his face as if he couldn't believe that he had managed to accomplish so much in such a short time. But he wasn't going to let his guard down just because he was doing well so far. His experience told him that when things go too easily, something is wrong, so he wasn't going to miss anything. But the main thing was that he found Rue, that their relationship was moving in the right direction...and that they would spend more time together soon.
***
Shane was lying on an uncomfortable bed. He frowned slightly and opened his eyelids, then blinked in shock to see several pairs of eyes staring at him with unprecedented interest. Confused, he moved, when a rush of pain hit his body, what an unsparing evening he had experienced yesterday. Nevertheless, he sat down and backed away from a number of young men who literally surrounded him as if he were an attraction.
"He's awake!" Shouted one.
"Is he all right?" Shane heard, after which other young men flocked to him.
"He took over!"
,,Almost."
,,Is he fine?"
"Were you the first time Nielle used you?"
"Not even the twentieth."
"He looks terrified."
Shane listened to fifteen or so people discussing his condition as if he wasn't sitting right next to them, only to straighten up in confusion. He waited for everyone to be quiet so he could find out what was going on.
"Shut up," one young man raised his voice, "do you want to scare him too? Poor guy." He stated, sitting down next to Shane.
Shane looked at the blond young man with piercing blue eyes that immediately focused on him and gave him a supportive glow, as he smiled softly, “Good morning, how are you feeling?” He asked.
Shane took a moment to consider what to say when he opened his mouth and realized his vocal cords were hurting more than he expected. He gently cleared his throat and tried: "Where am I?"
"In the palace, in Rinsel. Do you remember?" The young man smiled.
"I know where I am," Shane sighed, "but where in the palace." He didn´t know.
The youths blinked softly and slowly sat around, giving Shane the feeling of being interrogated, “You are in the storey belonging to Prince Nielle, on the fourth highest floor.”
Shane looked around and tried to assess what kind of room this was. But he wasn't sure. It was really spacious, almost as if someone had connected the entire floor together. Along the right wall there were strange beds, one of which he was lying on, opposite were currently unfilled holes in the ground, which were used for bathing, and against the entrance he saw four more doors, leading to an unknown place. He saw spacious sofas in the corners of the room, and in the middle of the room was a platform and a long dining table for many people. In addition, all kinds of clothes of the young men were lying everywhere on the ground.
"You all live in one room?" Shane didn't understand.
One nodded, "You'll get used to it...we belong to Prince Nielle, although it's not the most ideal to live in the same room with a bunch of other people, after last night you'll surely appreciate staying here for the night," he knew.
“Last night,” Shane remembered, whereupon everyone fell silent, as if waiting for Shane to explode.
"Ah," however, Shane sighed more or less calmly, "that bastard." He cursed.
"Shhh," one of the young men sharply put a finger to his mouth, "don't say such things. What if he hears you?" He whispered.
Shane lowered his finger from his lips and tried to stand up: "Let him hear," he stood up and stretched gently, "so you just live in this room all day?"
"You shouldn't be walking," a young man stopped him and pulled him back to the bed, "after the first night with Prince Nielle..." He didn't finish.
"I'm fine," Shane shook his hand, "and what if you want to go out?" He was interested.
"Some of us have to work... I'm in the kitchen, for example... we go to our places... if the prince calls us, we go to him... if we have time off, we can go to the city, if the prince allows us, or to some part of the castle, if the prince allows us... if he doesn't, we're in the room," he summarized.
"If the prince allows you," Shane repeated in a monotone, sighing again and making his way to the door.
"Hey! Where are you going?" one of the young men grabbed him.
"I'm not going to wait in the room until the prince lets me out," he said.
"You can't without permission," he stopped him again, but Shane simply got rid of him.
"You can't...wait," another argued.
Shane wasn't listening to them. He didn't know why all the Lacrisans in this room were without an ounce of self-respect. He didn't know why he wasn't allowed to go out without permission, but he really wasn't going to sit on his ass and wait for the prince to remember not to leave him in a room for days.
“He's going to whip you and you will end up in jail for a week!” one shouted, causing Shane to stop.
"Really?" He looked at the young man, who just nodded sharply. Although Shane was not afraid of being whipped, the prospect of spending so much time in the dungeon was not appealing. So after a while he sighed and returned to the bed, "Fine." He laid down.
The young men looked at him with relief, as if they were afraid that everyone would have a problem because of his escape. They kept looking at him for a while before they started bothering Shane: "Do you need anything?"
“Why are you all looking at me?" He didn't understand.
"You seem to be quite well," one said.
"Shouldn't I?"
"I don't know..."
"He raped you and you have bandages everywhere, he took your luck and-" the other blurted out, after which one of the young men covered his mouth, as if he was afraid that Shane wouldn´t take hearing about last night in the best way.
Shane looked at him, "I have all my limbs, I can move and I have enough luck," he said.
"Yeah, but-" one began.
”Ah,” it dawned on Shane, “you want to support me…you think your words will make me feel better.”
The young men nodded: "If you need anything..."
"I don't need it," he explained, to which the young men looked at each other in surprise, as if they didn't understand what Shane was saying.
After a while though, one of them said, "Fine...but if you need anything, say it." He patted a few Lacrisans on a sign to leave him alone for a while, as it looked like he really didn't want to communicate with them.
And he was right, because Shane had no energy for them. Everyone told each other that he was suffocating all his feelings inside, that he was stressed, terrified inside and didn't know how to get rid of his pain, just like they had when Nielle brought them here. However, no one knew that they were really wrong.
Shane was fine as always. For him, one rape was just another line of unpleasant experiences he had lived through, and after yesterday, Nielle became just another bastard in his memory. Shane didn't need friends, he didn't need pity and support. All he needed was the opportunity to complete his task and get out of this country as quickly as possible, along with revenge on another idiot who chose not to listen to his suggestions for peaceful coexistence.
Shane knew it wasn't going to happen right away, he knew he wasn't going to have the best of times in this country and the scenario of yesterday would probably repeat itself countless times before he will get his way. But it didn't matter. There were other things inside him that were destroying him, so a little pain and a few violent erotic acts were nothing more than child's play that couldn't break him.
However, none of the Lacrisans around him understood such things...and he didn't even demand it from them.
He sat for about half an hour, pondering his steps, when the door to the room opened. Everyone looked up as Nielle entered. The moment they realized who was visiting them, they all lined up and bowed their heads in greeting.
Shane looked at Nielle who was simply ignoring the entire crowd of Lacrisans and after finding him sitting on one of the beds he walked right up to him.
"Aren't you going to get up to greet me?" Nielle laughed, looking down at Shane as if he wanted to see what he had done after yesterday.
What Shane felt wasn't intense hatred, but it definitely wasn't a favour either. He got up and looked at Niello carefully, "I don't know the local rules, if you have a list, give it to me," he said.
Nielle looked at him carefully for a moment before laughing lightly: "First in line, come here!" He shouted at the Lacrisans, after which a young man ran up to him.
"Yes, Your Highness?" He looked down.
"Name the rules," Nielle instructed.
The young man shuddered in terror, how he couldn´t think rationally in the presence of the prince. But since the disobeying the order was the same as being punished, he began: "The owner must be called master, sir or by the title...the master mustn´t be opposed...the master has no obligations towards us...every morning at half past seven we wait for the master's arrival...if the master doesn´t come and no one is called, we are allowed to go to our work...the master may take us from any job at any time...any opposition to the master is punished...wandering in the palace without permission is punished...wandering in the city without permission is punished...meeting with princes other than the master without permission is punished...giving luck to someone other than the master is punished...sex between each other is allowed if the master doesn´t catch us, if he catches us, it´s punished...when the master arrives, it is necessary to stand up and prove respect...forgetting the rules is punished...the punishment depends on the master's mood...ignorance of the rules is no excuse..." he tried to remember them all, although he said them in an imprecise order.
Nielle listened to him contentedly before adding after a moment of silence, "Did he say all of them?" He asked the second Lacrisan in line.
The young man hesitated, not wanting to cause trouble to Lacrisan, but finally said, "H-He missed four of them"
Lacrisan next to Nielle stammered in terror: "I-I...I have them w-written...and I follow them all...I just..."
"Why do you have them written down if you don't know them?" Nielle looked at him.
"I-I..." He didn't know.
Nielle looked at the Lacrisans, "How many rules did they break?" he asked, pointing at one of them.
"Me?" one was startled, not wanting to cause trouble for the newbie or their friend, but as Nielle gave him a dangerous look, he said, "Cassi...he didn't know the rules," he mumbled, "w-what's your name?" He looked at Shane.
"Shane," he said.
"Shane...he didn't address the prince properly, he didn't stand up, he didn't wait, he spoke inappropriately," he listed.
"Exactly," Nielle nodded and allowed him to return to his seat before looking at the pair of Lacrisans. Cassi freaked out, Shane sitting on the bed again, not enjoying standing around while everyone was talking.
"How should I punish you?" He smiled.
“A-as you wish, master…I´m sorry.” Cassi looked down at the ground.
Nielle smiled contentedly, "Somebody get me a leather whip," he said, causing Cassi to back away as if looking for help in Lacrisans. But the youths just stared at the ground in silence.
After a while, one of them brought a whip from the closet.
Nielle took it over and tossed it in his palm: "Three blows for one rule, what do you say? Pretty harmless, don't you think?” He laughed.
Nobody answered and Nielle didn't even expect that to happen, so he just looked at the young men in front of him and ordered: "Undress."
Cassi, although terrified, slowly began to follow the instruction while Shane glared at him. He didn't feel like getting up or being beaten, since his every part hurt so bad after yesterday, so he was taking his time.
However, Nielle took it as a protest, so he stopped Cassi with a gentle laugh: "Change of plan, take off your lower part," he instructed.
"P-prince N-nielle…" Cassi mumbled, clutching his clothes in his hands as he could only mentally brace himself for three lashes. Another kind of humiliation in front of everyone was something he didn't think he could handle.
"Thank your new roommate for being uncooperative," Nielle laughed, "if you don't want me to change my plans for the better, tell him to get up."
Terrified, Cassi knelt down next to Shane and pulled his hand: "Please...get up...please...p-please...get up," he insisted, “I...I don´t want to...please I...I know we don't know each other...but..." He tried. Shane shook his hand off him and got to his feet with a sigh.
Cassi looked at him in surprise as he didn't expect such cooperation and mumbled quietly: "Th-thank you..."
"I was planning to get up, it's not because of you," he said. He wasn't lying, he really wasn't going to get locked up in a dungeon, as everyone threatened him for every stupid thing.
"Take off your clothes," Nielle ordered.
Shane followed the instruction, revealing to everyone his bandaged body, which wasn´t in the best condition after yesterday.
Nielle smiled lightly and nodded to the wall: "Back to the wall, feet apart," he instructed.
Chills flooded Cassi's naked body under the rush of cold and fear, even though he was only supposed to receive a light punishment. Shane was quite warm from the bandages, so he just leaned his back against the wall and spread his legs.
"When you fall, you get two more," Nielle promised, flipping the whip in his hand before looking down at the body of his familiar Lacrisan.
As Cassi closed his eyelids, Nielle gave Lacrisan the first slash. With a force he hit his crotch from below.
,,ÁÁÁÁGH!" He screamed in agony as his penis was almost cut open by the thick whip. He pulled his legs together and widened his eyes in terror as he didn't expect the wounds to be concentrated here.
"Do you want to increase the number?" Nielle wondered, after which Cassi removed his hands from his crotch in a second. He shook his head, closed his eyes, and tried to manage the last two hits.
Nielle gave a second lash of the whip between Shane's legs. Shane twitched painfully, clenched his teeth sharply, but didn´t react significantly. However, he was irritated by the prince's self-confidence.
"How cute," Nielle laughed and gave Cassi's penis another hit. The young man's legs buckled again under the new whipping, but he held on and shakily leaned against the wall.
"Ngh-ágh-ngh!" He sobbed, although tears didn´t run down his cheeks.
"Will you cry?" Nielle looked at him contentedly, but Cassi quickly wiped his eyes, although they were still dry, and shook his head in terror.
"N-no...I won´t...I'm not crying," he promised, knowing full well that Nielle wouldn't let the opportunity pass and would definitely take some of his tears. And even though Cassi dreaded sex and all kinds of punishment, he feared the transmission of luck through tears as much as anyone.
“Good boy.” Although Nielle loved their tears, he still trusted that his Lacrisans were well trained and didn´t cry easily.
Shane looked at Nielle's satisfied expression as he returned to him again and without hesitation whipped him across his dick. Shane clenched his fists, closed his eyelids tightly, and let out a loud breath as his cock stung him intensely. Nielle was amused by his bland but highly interesting reaction, so he swung the tool at him again. Shane backed up against the wall and looked to the side. He was no stranger to pain and didn't exactly hate it, but Nielle's behavior made Shana want to rip the whip out of his hand and whipped him instead twice as much.
Nielle smiled contentedly and flicked Cassi again. The whip hit his crotch right over his legs, causing Cassi's knee to buckle with a shriek, and he almost lost his footing. Tears gushed from his eyes, he clasped his wound in his hands and sobbed loudly. He felt as if the whip had severed his penis, as evidenced by the tiny streaks of blood running down his thighs.
Intrigued by Lacrisan's inappropriate reaction, Nielle contentedly approached his shaking body and slowly bent down, "I remember...you're the one I didn't even enjoy before the new one came," he laughed, "I don't punish you often enough...is that why you have no self control?" He laughed and extended his fingers to him.
Cassi just lets out a horrified sob as Nielle lifted his chin towards him and looked down at his glistening tears, drenching his face. Nielle had never whipped him like that. The prince was telling the truth, he really was one of the lucky ones who ended up in Nielle's service between two others, and thus the prince more or less ignored him upon his arrival after a few initial meetings.
"It's a mistake on my part, I should have paid more attention to you," Nielle laughed, "we can start right now, if you can't hold them in, bear the consequences." He smiled contentedly and gently pressed his lips to his cheek, lightly trailing his tongue up almost to his eyes. Lacrisan let out a horrified scream before anything could happen.
"N-no...p-please no...s-stop...s-stop..." He tried to push him away, as even sex alone would be better treatment than what he was trying to do at the moment. However, he wasn't strong enough, Nielle was having a good time, and so he slowly reached the source of his tears despite the young man's whining.
Everyone just watched in disgust as their friend ended up in Nielle's hands, some looked away, some thanked that they weren´t in his position, but no one intervened. Nielle only lightly touched Cassi's face with his tongue again when a harsh jerk tore him from Lacrisan's body, causing him to blink in surprise.
"He says he doesn't want to..." Shane held his wrist tightly while Nielle looked up at him stunned.
He stared at him silently for a moment, as if he couldn't believe that he had just really interrupted the fun, before his puzzled expression turned to amusement, “It's not up to him if he wants to…but you have a bigger problem than him right now, don't you think?” He broke out of his grip.
"It's his luck, he's the only one who decides who he´ll give it to, whether to give it to someone...what you're doing in this country is disgusting," he stated.
Nielle looked at him in disbelief before sighing deeply, "Oh," he shook his head, "I don't remember ever seeing so stupid Lacisan." He chuckled and raised the whip in his hand. With increased force, he whipped Shane across his naked body, causing him to back away in displeasure, but Nielle whipped him again and calmly stepped forward.
"Yesterday wasn't enough for you to get to know me," he lashed him again, cutting Shane's hand as he raised it in defense, "but it doesn't matter," a new swing slashed at Shane's side, causing him to hiss in pain, "I've got all day today just to educate you." A fresh whip hit across the thighs made Shane stop as his legs shook and in the next step slam into the wall as he didn't realize he was backing up.
Nielle glared at him sadistically while Shane wondered if he had done the right thing by defending the young man. Not that Nielle scared him, but the idea of killing the day with him instead of getting information on where he ended up wasn't the most appealing.
When Nielle was almost at his side and Shane was coming to terms with the fact that today wouldn't end well again, that he wouldn't find out anything important today either, the door to the room opened and a pair of men in black ran in.
“Your Highness!” The Black guard who was allowed to report information to Nielle at any time ran up to him.
"What is it?" Nielle sighed, "Can't you see I'm bussy?"
"There has been a murder in the city," one of the men announced. Nielle lowered his whip and looked at him in surprise.
"Murder? In our city?" He didn't believe. Practically ever since he started overseeing the country alone, there was almost no one who committed a more serious crime than theft. The last one was sometime last year, although they happened more often in smaller cities. However, in the capital, there was no such thing. Everyone knew that he had his people everywhere, everyone knew that murder was punishable by execution after a stay in the dungeon. And no one has tied it since, knowing he always caught everyone.
"Last night a couple of employees at one of the gaming rooms," he clarified.
Nielle sighed deeply and glared at Shane, "I wonder if I took a little luck from you yesterday or if you just had time to fill up overnight," he laughed as Shane was saved by an unprecedented coincidence from a full day with him.
"Sir...the king is furious," one of the men informed him as a sign that the situation wouldn´t wait.
Nielle sighed: "When was he not furious? Does he even know anything else?" He laughed and glanced at Shane, "You're coming with me, get dressed," he looked at the guard, "when he's done, bring him, don't let him out of your sight. He likes to cause trouble." He stated and started to leave the room.
Shane peeled himself off the wall and picked up his clothes from the ground, put them on and looked at the young man on the ground who was still sobbing in terror. Shane bent down gently and handed him his clothes tossed aside.
Cassi looked at him through his tears and quickly wiped them away, "I-I...thank you...thank you," he whimpered.
"You have some luck...guard it, when you run out, nothing will help you...and crying definitely no," he advised.
Cassi nodded and slowly stood up.
Shane looked at the guard who wasn't dealing with Nielle's Lacrisan business and waited for Shane to approach him for a sign that they could go. When that happened, they walked out of the room together. The door slammed shut behind them, the group of Lacrisans, for whom Shane had become the new target of admiration, were left alone in the room while Shane and the guard went after Nielle.
Shane didn't plan to draw attention to himself, he didn't even plan to resist the punishments and other things that Nielle and other Riselans thought were fun. But it happened. However, it didn't matter at the moment, and he intended to think about how not to make the situation worse... and maybe how to take revenge on the unpleasant prince for yesterday's and today's experience.
Despite the fact that he was exhausted yesterday, that Nielle had stolen quite a bit of his luck, that he had taken a few whiplash today, he felt much better than yesterday. He wasn't completely adapted to the land of no luck, but he had the impression that it was much better than when he crossed the border yesterday. Moreover, the sudden arrival of the interruption of Nielle's plans at a moment when things were looking bad for him was only proof that his luck was more or less normal. That's why he knew he didn't have to worry.
Because he knew that no matter how much luck Nielle wanted from him, he would never overcome him. Because no matter how much luck the Rinselan stole for himself, he was still unable to use it like the person to whom it rightfully belonged. It didn't last nearly as long for them as it did for Lacrisan, and its quality was never at full strength after the transfer either. That´s why the Lacrisans always had better luck in any situation. Although it didn't always seem that way at the first sight.
However, what mattered at the moment was that he had to advance in his mission. And since he expected Nielle to take him to the city, he believed that he would get the opportunity to do so.
If luck allows.