Date: Sat, 19 May 2001 22:56:00 -0700 (PDT)
From: NCfan <ngclle@yahoo.com>
Subject: boy-bands/the debt 8

Disclaimer: I do not know the BSB.  The following is a work of fiction.
Those under 18 are advised not to continue reading.

*********************

After three days of exhausting travel and endless business meetings, they
finally arrived at the merchant's castle.  The carriage slowed down to a
halt as Nick stared outside of the carriage at the castle gates.  He was
mesmerized.  It was sheer beauty and grandeur.  Nick looked over at the
merchant excitedly.  The merchant only smirked at Nick's innocence.

Nick was happy to not be on the road anymore.  The past three days had been
tiring, especially when he got no sleep during the night.  He had exhausted
himself just to quench the merchant's hunger.  During the day, he was bored
out of his wits.

He was a little nervous about meeting the family, though.  It was no secret
that the master had a male slave to please him at night since he got no
more pleasure from his wife.  Nevertheless, he respected his wife and
children and did not disown her.  But he had not shared a bed with her in
twenty years.

Nick gulped.  Twenty years was a long time, long enough to nurture a hatred
so dangerous that she could kill.  But Nick couldn't do anything about it
now.  It was not his fault that the master preferred him to warm the bed
over the wife.  Still, Nick felt a cold shudder as he once again looked
into his master's eyes.  All he could see was a transient lust, soon to be
replaced by boredome.  Nick sensed it.  He could sense the lack concern for
his well-being.  He didn't expect his master to love him, but the coldness
in the man's eyes frightened Nick.  If his master did not protect him from
the rest of the family . . . Nick closed his eyes.  He was scared.  He was
alone and outnumbered.

The carriage stopped.  The merchant looked at Nick and placed a hand on his
thigh near his groin suggestively.  "You will have a slave's room of your
own, but at midnight, you are to meet at the guest quarters.  That goes for
every night.  You are to remain there every night from now on and even if
you don't see me, you are to stay until the break of dawn when you are
supposed to do your menial work."  With that, the merchant put on a smile
and stepped off the carriage, not failing to squeeze Nick once before
greeting his wife and children, who had come out to welcome him home.  For
one minute, Nick wanted to stay in the carriage and wait until they were
gone, but knowing that that wouldn't happen, Nick slowly stepped off the
carriage.

He was met by five icy blue gazes along with distasteful stares from the
many servants that lined up to greet the master.  No one wanted to
acknowledge his existence and the merchant's wife looked stone cold at his
figure.  Nick gulped and looked at the ground.  His arms started to shake
uncontrollably.  The four sons didn't so much as to look at Nick.  They
hovered around their father and followed him back to the castle gates.

"How was your trip, father?" one of the sons asked, stepping in front of
Nick pushing Nick further away from the father.

"It was a profitable trip, son.  And I've acquired quite a few assets along
the way."  The merchant answered boldly. All the children and the wife
understood all the underlying meanings behind that statement.  Nick felt
even lower than low as he continued to trail behind the bunch.

"You must be careful, father.  Some 'assets' can be less genuine once
you've acquired them," another son replied.

Nick bit his tongue to hold back the humiliation.

"As always, son, you are right.  I do find that new is much better than
used.  Once used, objects tend to lose their value dramatically," the
merchant replied agreeably.

Nick blushed hard, but lowered his head to hide his discomfort.

"But sometimes, a little fun can relieve some stress, father," the third
son answered.

It was then that Nick noticed that one of the sons was silent.  Nick snuck
a peak at him, only to be startled when he was met with the son's crisp
blue eyes.  It was as if this son had an expression of half hatred half
pity.  His blue eyes were remarkably honest and impressive.  He heard the
merchant calling that son Brian.

Nick smiled to himself.  Brian was a nice name.  Sweet, innocent.  But
angry nevertheless.  Nick could feel this son, Brian's, repressed dislike
for him and he wanted to cry out in shame.  For some reason, he wanted
Brian to like him.  He didn't know why nor could he think of one good
reason why Brian should like him.  It was just a sudden hope.  Perhaps it
was because Brian, unlike the others, had suppressed the desire to
humiliate Nick.  However, he was upset that his father had humiliated his
mother and brought home one of his petty little fantasies.

The walk to his slave quarters was long and difficult.  However, he was
finally dismissed to his quarters to prepare for that night.  As expected,
he had the darkest room that was farthest from the master's quarters.  As
he stepped into the darkness, he felt the damp floor and the walls covered
with dirt and webs.  This slave's quarters had been empty for a while.  A
sudden thought brought goosebumps to Nick's skin.  Was this the room that
the last boy that the merchant fancied lived in?  Nick shuddered.

Nick took out a candle and lit the room.  There was some damp hay on the
floor for him to sleep on.  There was an old rusty kettle in the room.  The
walls were covered with slime and molds.  Nick sighed.  At least he had a
room to himself.  He had barely placed his scant amount of clothes on the
damp hay when his thoughts once again drifted to the son, Brian.  Nick
couldn't get that face out of his mind.  No!  He couldn't think like that.
Brian was his master's son.  He had no chance.  It was all wishful
thinking.  He quickly shoved the thoughts out of his mind and was ready to
take a little nap.  He cringed as he laid down on the damp hay.  He had a
feeling that if he had asked for anything, the other servants would merely
laugh.

Dinner didn't go well either.  Other slaves simply glared at him as he
walked to the dining hall for the slaves and servants.  He was fed a cold
week-old bread and assigned to wash the dishes for that day.  Everyone
acted as if he were a vermin and refused to talk to him.  Once done with
the dishes, he was assigned to get water from the well and later to clean
up the furnaces.  Midnight had not arrived yet and he was later assigned to
scrubbing the floors of the kitchen.  Nick felt his entire body cramp up.
Worse, he had also been assigned to clean up the guest room.

When he stepped into the guest room, he was awed by its grandness.  The bed
that lay in the middle was big and spacious.  At least he would get a good
night's sleep, hopefully.  His muscles ached for rest.  He was almost done
cleaning the floor when he realized another presence in the room.  It was
the lady of the castle, the merchant's wife.  He subconsciously realized
that she was there to see him.  She circled him like a hawk, staring down
into his inferior body.  Nick gulped.

His face was dark and dirty from his day's work.  She snorted.  "Don't even
know what the lord thinks of you.  You're nothing but a dirty snout.
Muscles that are flail and flimsy.  What could you possibly offer?  Oh, I
forgot, he must be desperate.  He spent all his money buying me that gold
chain so how could he possibly afford anything other than you."

Nick held his head in shame.  The lady walked out of the room and laughed.
Nick hurriedly cleaned up.  Not that he expected anyone else to even
address him.  He had this feeling that the sons didn't really care much for
his presence.  For that, he was grateful.

It was nearly midnight.  He had to at least take a bath before the merchant
arrived.  He quickly rushed to the bathing area inside the guest quarters.
It was exquisite with a pair of sleeping attire draped over the edge of the
sink.  He quickly lathered himself with the rich soaps that the master had
obviously supplied him with.  He did the best he could and put on the silk
clothing the master had bought for him.  He waited patiently until it was
well past midnight.  He couldn't sleep.  He just sat on the side of the
bed, waiting for the master.  He was afraid to sleep on such a beautiful
bed alone.  He waited a little longer until he soon fell asleep on the edge
of the bed.

Finally, he was awoken by a soft jab on his cheeks.  Nick opened his eyes
to see the merchant in front of him.  The merchant wasted no time and
removing Nick's clothing and quickly, they got on the bed.  By now,
everything Nick did was reflexive.  He was quick to arouse his master and
the two spent the rest of the night making love.  At least, this part of
his life was not too distasteful.  Even though the merchant was old enough
to be his father, Nick didn't mind.  He knew that things could be much
worse.

The night ended quickly.  The merchant was completely satisfied with Nick's
work that night and allowed him to go and start his daily chores.  Nick
gratefully stepped out of the guest quarters slightly wobbly from the
intensity of the night and quickly changed into his working clothes to
start another day's work.  That morning, they sent him to get more water
and to start setting the table.  And it seemed that he wasn't allowed any
food in the morning because everything was rationed.  And since he was the
newest slave to be acquired, they did not have enough food to feed him that
morning.  Nick could hear his stomach growling loudly, but he kept quiet.
He quickly did his chores.

Around lunch time, he was allowed another week-old loaf of bread.  He
gobbled it down hungrily.  He had barely finished half when one of the
servants told him to go down and fetch some supplies for the master's sons
as they needed it for their afternoon writing lessons.  Nick quickly set
foot out of the castle to the nearest trader to gather the supplies.  By
the time he arrived to receive the goods, his feet had developed lots of
callus, but he tried to push the pain away.  He made it to the trader's
shop in time and loaded himself with the utensils.  With that, he ran as
fast as he could back to the castle.  He barely returned in time, his face
red from the exhaustion.  As he feared, he was to bring the utensils
himself to the master's sons' writing room.

Nick quickly washed himself to look more presentable and headed to the
writing room.  Once he got there, he entered the room quietly, but to his
dismay, all four sons turned to gaze at him.  He kept his head low and
placed the paper and writing utensils on the teacher's desk when he heard a
voice.

"You're not supposed to leave it there, slave boy.  You're supposed to
place them on the tables!"  The teacher barked.  The other sons did not
laugh.  All seemed to look at Nick intently to see what he would do in
response.  All except Brian that was.  Still, he could see Brian's
unhappiness.  He didn't blame them.  He was their father's sex toy.  He
would have hated himself, too.  Shaking slightly, he started to distribute
all the things he brought.  Once over, he stepped out quietly, his face
never leaving the ground.

None of the sons made a comment, nor changed their expression throughout
the painful ordeal.  None bothered to thank him either, although his rank
was high enough that they needed to express any gratitude towards him.  How
he longed to be like them, to sit in a room and be able to read and write
for hours and hours.  But he had to remind himself to not be so greedy.

At least the day was half over.  He quickly went to his own slave's
quarters.  Again, he had barely sat down on the haystack when he heard a
knock on the door.  He opened it and as expected, more work.  By now, the
lack of sleep was taking a toll on him.  He felt weak all over and his arms
were numb from the lack of food.  But still, at least he had a place to
sleep at night.  He obediently went to clean up the dishes and laundry.  It
was hot outside.  His once fair skin had tanned and his body could not take
the heat too much.  He felt slightly dizzy, but he knew that he could tough
it up if he tried.

Dinner time was just as bad as the day before.  Again, no food.  He had to
find leftovers after all the other slaves had ate--a chicken wing with some
meat left.  He grabbed it greedily and ate whatever meat was left.  It
tasted so good!  He also saw a piece of bread on the floor in the corner.
He immediately jumped and grabbed it.  That didn't taste as good as the
chicken, but he felt fuller after eating it.  He dug through the trash can
for some more food, and soon, he was full.  He began to wash the dishes and
repeat the chores he did last night until midnight once again came.  He
quickly bathed and changed and went to the guest chambers and like the day
before, awaited his master's presence.

He hoped to get some sleep before his master arrived, but to his dismay,
his master appeared at the stroke of midnight.  Again, Nick wasted no time
in pleasing his master.  He urged his master onto the bed and together,
they spent another restless night in bed.  That night, Nick had even less
sleep as his master was very energetic and had no desire to stop the sexual
play.  Nick couldn't even count by the time they were done and dawn once
again approached.  Like the day before, Nick slipped out of bed at the
stroke of dawn and rushed to change.  He decided to take a bath first as
his body was dripping with sweat and his master's seed.

***************

The days went by slowly.  By the end of the week, Nick felt like he had
lived in the castle all his life.  The other servants did not show him any
mercy, but they began to see his resourcefulness in the kitchen.  They
handed him all the dirty work and continued to starve him, amused as his
body began to show signs of wear and tear.

Still, his master did not make any comment about his weight loss.  All his
master cared about was whether Nick was pleasing in bed or not.  And the
past few days, the master seemed even more discontent.  The charm was
wearing down.  Nick sensed it.  The images of the previous slave boy kept
on playing in Nick's mind, haunting him every night.  He desperately tried
to hide his fear, but he was not successful.  He felt like he would soon
follow that previous boy's past.

But he wasn't dead yet, he tried to convince himself.

Surprisingly, the trips to bring supplies to the master's sons would be the
most rewarding time of the day.  The sons, to Nick's surprise, never once
scorned or mocked him.  They would simply remain silent whenever he was
around, but then go back to their business without much hostility towards
him.  Sometimes, Nick would sneak a peak at Brian for a few minutes before
going back to the kitchen to do his work.  At times, the sons would have
friends over and Nick would look at the gentile interactions between the
merchant's sons and their friends.  All were so noble and elegant.  He
wished he could be like them.  He would dream every night that he would
have friends who would care about whether he was healthy or sick, friends
that cared about his emotions, that within one week, he would turn 17.

And he longed so much for Brian to notice him or to show any recognition of
his presence.  But never had Brian once lifted his gaze to look upon Nick.
The only interpretation that Nick had was that Brian was still upset with
him for stealing his father away from the family.  Though none of the sons
had verbalized it, Nick felt their suppressed animosity towards him.  That
was why he never dared say anything in their presence.

***************************

But time was working against Nick.  The master became very unsatisfied with
him.  He wasn't as exciting as he was the first night.  So many times, the
master would slap him hard in the face to make him be more conscious of his
poor effort.  As Nick suspected, the master was bored.  Only a few more
days and he would be discarded, fodder for the servants' amusements, that
is, if his master didn't get to him first.  Finally, the day Nick dreaded
approached.  His 17th birthday.

The master was extremely bored that day and decided to practice his
archery.  The worst part was that he decided to bring the entire family out
for amusement as well.  Nick followed the procession down to the grounds in
the back of the castle, quietly wishing that nothing too exciting would
happen on his 17th birthday.  To his dismay, he heard his master call out
his name.

"Nick, why don't you come here and make yourself useful," his master
barked.  Nick knew that this was trouble.  The night before, he had
displeased his master once again and his master was agitated the entire
night.  With a heavy heart, Nick slowly walked up towards his master.  All
the servants and the sons' as well as the lady's gaze fell upon him,
probably with triumph and happiness that he fell out of favor with the
master.  Nick bowed his head towards his master.  He could also feel the
guests' eyes on him.  His master had also invited their long time friends
to go hunting that day.

"On the count of three, you run as fast as you can into the forest, okay?"
the master said indifferently.

Nick's eyes shot up in shock as the realization hit him.  He looked as the
other servants brought out boxes with other wild animals to be hunted,
ready to release them.  He gazed incredulously at his master.  Had not the
last month meant anything to his master?  His heart sunk.  He hadn't
expected it to be so soon.  He didn't dare look at the family members.
Probably smirking at him.  He looked towards the hunting grounds and slowly
started to feel the panic.

What Nick didn't see was the look of shock on the sons' eyes as they too
looked at their father, startled by his sudden cruelty.  Of course they
hated the blond boy, but never once did they think of doing anything other
than isolating him from the family affairs.  And to have their father, the
one who had bought the boy, give him the death sentence himself in front of
everybody had suddenly strengthened their pity for the boy.

Brian immediately stepped out from behind his father.  "Father, we already
have wildlife to hunt, I don't think there is any reason to . . . "

But Brian was cut off by his father.  "Son, I'm doing an experiment to see
whether human reflexes are better than animals."

Brian looked desperately at his brothers, his eyes pleading for them to
support him.  Then he looked at Nick with more guilt.  "He looks rather ill
today.  I think we should not . . . I mean he's not game like the other
creatures."

One of Brian's brothers too stepped out.  "Father, the boy looks rather
pale.  Maybe we can try another day, when he's less ill."

Nick felt some gratitude, but for the past month, he had come to understand
his master's thoughts well, and he knew that all attempts at keeping his
life were in vain.

The master turned to look at Nick with pleasure.  "What do you think, Nick?
Do you have enough energy in that weak body of yours?  Or are you going to
tough it up and be more useful than you have been around my castle grounds
lately?"

The words stung Nick's soul.  So his master thought he was useless.  Nick
didn't look at the other servants, but he could sense their guilt.  They
had pretty much dumped him with all the work and they had reported to the
master that he was useless?  Suddenly, he felt this intense desire to get
his life over with.  If he was that useless, then his existence did not
mean anything to these people, did it?  Was there any other reason to
preserve his life?

He looked up boldly at his master.  "No.  I'm ready. A slave is not
worthwhile if he cannot be useful to his master."  Those words slipped out
of Nick's mouth before he had the chance to change them.  But he had no
intention of changing his mind.  He suddenly felt odd that his answer
startled everyone, even the sons and the servants.  Was this not what they
wanted?  Was this not what their actions told him that they wanted?  But he
didn't care anymore.  He turned around and braced himself.

Brian's voice suddenly became louder, more desperate.  "Father, do you not
treasure his presence at all?"

"Brian?" the master's voice bordered dangerously on anger.

"Did you not fancy him?" Brian ignored his father's threatening tone.

"Brian!" the master's voice became louder.

"He is your lover for heaven's sake!" Brian finally blurted.  His brothers
had to hold onto his arms to prevent him from jumping his father, but the
damage had been done.  All stared in anticipation at the master's reaction.

The master glared angrily at Brian, his face flushed, his nostrils flaring.
The family friends looked nervously at the exchange between father and son.

As if in response to Brian, the master snapped his head to glare at Nick.
"You have ten seconds before I come after you with my bow and arrow."  Nick
knew that look, and so did the rest of the household.  All the servants
gazed anxiously and nervously at the master.  That was the look of murder.

Without hesitation, Nick whipped around and ran for his life.  He wasn't
far enough not to hear the horse's furious pace as the master kicked it
into action.  The only thing that comforted him was the fact that the
master's friends did not follow his cue.  They remained with their horses
at the castle, watching helplessly as the master single-handedly chased
Nick down.  It was now a struggle between Nick and his master--Nick's
struggle to remain alive and his master's struggle to put an end to his
life.

Nick's heart sunk.  Never in a million years would he ever think that the
person to end his life would be the one he had the most faith in to protect
him, the one he depended on for warmth and understanding.  And never once
did he think that the one person who had never bothered to even give him a
glance would so adamantly protect his life.  Maybe in his next life, he
would repay Brian's kindness.  Maybe . . .

***********************

Hope you guys liked this chapter!  ngclle@yahoo.com