Of Slaves and Royals

[Starphyre77]

((Hey folks, just letting you know that I’m going out of town from Sunday the 4th until Friday the 9th, and will be without internet once again… This should be the last time this summer. ))

 

Despite Tybalt’s comforting, Ella was still very much afraid of Leon, so when he asked Zeke about her, she still didn’t dare look up. However, when Zeke asked her how long ago they’d been separated, she looked up to him with tears brimming in her eyes as she thought, Far too many. “We were twelve,” she answered in a quiet and strained voice. She was a little surprised when Leon gave him permission to hug her, and when Tybalt stood, it was all the permission she needed, and she quickly scrambled out of the booth. “Oh Zeke,” she said as she rushed into his open arms, and wrapping her arms around him, she buried her face in his chest. She was flooded with so many emotions – happiness, sadness, relief, regret, hope, fear – and if asked, she wouldn’t have been able to explain what she was feeling. Standing there in her brother’s arms, her shoulders shook from her silent sobs.

 

[lycrawaterz14]

Tybalt's heart sunk. He promised her he would take care of her until she found her brother... Now that she had found him... He wasn't needed. Ella could run away from him and be happy... Ella could stay with her brother. She didn't need him. And Tybalt didn't have anything to offer her, truly, except a life of slavery.

 

He looked to Leon. "They can't be separated again... What if... I gave you Ella, and paid for her amenities so she could stay with her brother. If that's what she wanted..." Tybalt looked sad and sat back down in the booth. "I could pay you cash on top of that... If you promise to care for her. Not hurt her or anything..."

[chicbecause]

Leon sighed. "You don't have to pay me or anything. Well, you do, but not for me to take her. She can stay with Zeke and I if she wants but I won't take her if she doesn't want to come." He said, crossing his arms.

 

Maddi looked over at Sam. "You're still all wet." She observed.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Sam grunted in response, pulling his blanket tighter around him. He was also very cold, but he didn't feel like getting up.

[padfoot]

Zeke hugged his Ella back, secretly checking her body mass in the process. He couldn't feel her ribs through her shirt and her skin color seemed good. This man seemed to be taking good care of his sister and he smiled. He wrapped his arms around her and took a deep breath, "It's ok Ella, don't cry. You don't need to cry", he said softly. He really didn't know how to react with strong emotions and didn't want to cry in front of the two men. His time in the ring taught him that showing weakness was a death sentence. He looked back at Leon. Was his apartment big enough? Would he really want to expose his sister to the kind of work his owner did? He had a lot to sort out but all he wanted to do now was catch up with his sister.

[chicbecause]

"Do you want anything?" Maddi asked, craning her neck so her head was blocking his view of the television.

Edited August 8, 2013 by chicbecause

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Sam's eyes flickered to her, and he shook his head fractionally. No, he didn't want anything. He just wanted to lay there.

[Starphyre77]

As Zeke comforted her, Ella calmed down a bit, but then she realized precisely what Tybalt and Leon were talking about, and she couldn’t quite suppress the shiver that ran down her spine. Turning her head slightly away from the table, she looked up to Zeke with a mixture of sorrow and terror on her face. However, finding herself at a loss for words, she buried her face again. She wanted to stay with her brother, but she was completely terrified of his master. She did, after all, witness him shoot that doctor in the head. She didn’t want to go with that man, and more importantly, she didn’t want Zeke belong to him either.

 

Hasn’t he been through enough, she thought sadly, but then the idea struck her that perhaps Tybalt could buy Zeke. He has plenty of room, and Zeke would be much better at keeping him out of the winery than me… Not letting go of Zeke, she turned back toward the table with a somewhat hopeful expression as she tried to figure out how to phrase the idea without it sounding like a request.

 

[Starphyre77]

((hmmm...bump?))

[lycrawaterz14]

"What is it...?" Tybalt asked. "Are you upset?"

[Starphyre77]

“No Sir,” Ella answered with a small shake of her head. “I was-” No, not thinking…”It’s just that…well seeing as how Zeke is so much stronger than me…um…wouldn’t he be better suited for... some of the duties that you require?” As she said that, she slightly tightened her arms around her brother. It was an action that would have been practically unnoticeable to all but a careful observer, but one that Zeke should have still been able to feel. It was her way of silently asking with him to go along with what she was trying to do.

[lycrawaterz14]

"Ella... I just need someone to keep up the house and clean. I don't need his strength, and it is more of a job for a female..." He shook his head. "Why do you wish for me to have... Oh. Ella... I can't take his slave from him. If you wish to stay with me just say so and I'm sure we can arrange visits..."

[Starphyre77]

As Tybalt spoke, Ella’s expression fell and by the time he was finished, she looked completely dejected. She wanted to tell him that it wasn’t so much a matter of her wanting to stay with him, as it was that she wanted to save Zeke from his master. Unfortunately, she was afraid that if she said anything, Leon might just kill Zeke. She was a little concerned that he might kill her as well, but it seemed less likely since he’d have to reimburse Tybalt if he did. After giving Leon a brief, wary glance, she once again turned her head so that only Zeke could see her face as she gave him a look that pleaded, ‘what do we do now?’

[Starphyre77]

((Hmmm... 'Ello?))

[kingcobra2018]

((Recap?))

[chicbecause]

Maddi tilted her head and looked at him for a while before taking his hand in her own. "Hey, you don't have to be sad anymore. I'm your friend, remember? That's nothing to be sad about!" She said sincerely. "And it's O.K. that you don't have popcorn, everyone makes mistakes!" She joked with a wink.

 

 

"Zeke can do whatever he wants. If he wants to stay with his sister far be it from me to keep him." Leon stated.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Sam lifted his tear stained face to look at her, then shook his head and laid back down, hand limp in her grip. "You wouldn't understand," he whispered, depression still heavy in his chest.

[chicbecause]

"Try me." Maddi replied, not letting go of his hand. "Can't you see I want to help? I'm here for you. Whatever it is I'll do my best to understand. You aren't alone or anything, okay? Just tell me what's going on." She continued softly.

[lycrawaterz14]

"Could we arrange visitation then? I do not have accommodations for a male slave... Ella and Rachel already share a room..." Tybalt didn't want to break up the siblings, but he still wanted to keep the rooms the way they were. "Unless Ella would like to be In my room and her brother in hers."

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Sam clenched his eyes shut as tears threatened to break free again. "It's not like I can just flip a switch and start feeling better," he snapped, unable to help himself. "I'm a spare guy, okay? I'm a spare guy when nobody needs a spare guy. What's the point of having all this if you've got no one to share it with? No one to at least talk to. You don't care, you just couldn't let me die because that would be wrong. Everyone else has abandoned me, so why not you?"

[chicbecause]

"You'll have to take that up with him. My schedule isn't really cast in stone at all, most people don't keep a calendar of who they want killed when." Leon explained, grabbing a doughnut from the box and taking a bite.

 

 

"Whoa, wait! I just got the craziest idea. What if I'm saying I care, because I really do care." Maddi said. "Seriously though, it's almost like you're afraid of letting someone care about you. You won't just think 'hey, she's nice! And she wants to be my friend! Thats great! Lets play Mario Kart for a while before frolicing in a meadow or something!' Can't someone just decide they want to be your friend? I mean, if people had to have reasons for caring about others, there wouldn't be a whole lot of people with friends because most people suck like lemons. I care about you. Deal with it." She stated.

[lycrawaterz14]

"How about he stays over Monday, Wednesday, and Friday? I could accommodate him on occasion." He looked up to Zeke. "Is that often enough...? Or..."

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Sam wasn't sure what to say. He knew one thing though- she really did care. Maybe she wasn't like everyone else. After a moment he crawled towards her and threw his arms around her, burying his face in her shoulder. "Please don't leave me," he begged brokenly, breath starting to hitch.

[chicbecause]

"Cross my heart." Maddi promised, wrapping her arms around him. She really just felt happy, because she needed a friend friend too. Probably not as much as Sam, but still. She gave him an extra squeeze as she said something along the lines pf he didn't have to cry anymore and she would always be here for him. She wasn't going anywhere.

 

 

Leon shrugged and made a thumb motion back at Zeke. He really had no clue what his schedule looked like.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Sniffling, Sam clung to her still, needing the closeness. It had been too long since he last touched anyone, let alone got a hug. He didn't say anything, couldn't without bursting into tears, but this was good enough.