Magenta lights.

Thunder of drums.

A frantic trumpet playing.

People laughing, alphas whistling with attentive gazes.

Iyasu spun around and gave the crowd a coy smirk as he finished another dance number. They cheered as he moved across the stage to the back exit, giving a wave to the crowd.

He made his way to the bar, dodging the more eager individuals who tried to block his path and chat him up. 

A seat was offered to him which he gladly took, his more zealous ‘fans’ still lingered around him and offered drinks until he accepted reluctantly. 

“Thanks.” He said flatly when an obnoxiously pink cocktail was shoved in his face, he didn’t even like sweet drinks but he took it anyway. 

He expected to look up and see one of his usual suitors but instead he saw a face he’s never seen before; Nice suit, tall form, dark eyes watching him intently as he accepted the offer. He was the only white man in a crowd of black and brown patrons.

Iyasu arched a brow at the man curiously, white boys didn’t come downtown to party, not unless they dabbled in less savory professions.

“No problem,” The guy replied, leaning against the bar he gazed at Iyasu.

 “Name’s Ivan.” He offered his hand but Iyasu didn’t take it. Who was this guy? 

“You lost your way going uptown, Ivan?” Iyasu teased, a few people at the bar laughed. The guy laughed along though it sounded strained.

“Of course not.” His tone shifted.

 “Just here to see your beautiful face like everyone else.” He grabbed Iyasu’s hand to kiss his knuckles, never breaking eye contact.

“I’m a fan of your work.”

Iyasu jolted awake. He could feel his heart pounding, beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He glanced around in a moment of confusion until he realized where he was. Cherry wood floors, forest green walls lined with gold, a bar on one side of the room and a desk on the other. 

An antique vanity showing his reflection from across the room.

Iyasu looked over at the spot next to him, the forest green sheets were empty, Roland was gone.

He felt himself relax against the headboard. What was that dream? It felt so real, so real that the reality of him being back in Roland’s room sunk in like a bitter pill.

He can’t remember the last time he was himself. The memory of his past self felt like a fairytale. 

Sitting up he looked around the room again, it was strange being here without Roland. When has Roland ever left him to his own devices like this? He half expected Jerrod to come tell him he was late for his morning duties but it looked well past the early morning judging by the sun rays that pierced through the window.

Iyasu got up with a wince when his back ached at the movement. He walked around the bed gingerly to see a robe hanging near the bed. He grabbed it, his nose scrunched up when he could smell Roland’s scent but he threw it on anyway. It was better than nothing.

He glanced at the door to see it was closed. There was no commotion outside of it. Roland must’ve left early for his trip, Iyasu could only hope.

He found himself walking around the room before he could stop himself. He’s never gotten the chance to really explore the place when he was usually…occupied.

The room was neat and tidy except the vanity that was filled with the usual mess of products. He walked up to it getting a glimpse of himself in the large mirror once again.

His hair was wild from him neglecting the upkeep for his dreadlocks for too long, his cheekbones more prominent than usual from the weight he’s lost. There were dark circles under his eyes from troubled sleep. Worst of all his brown eyes that once glistened with life were hollow, looking back at him like a haunted creature. 

Iyasu looked away, he couldn’t take the sight any longer. Instead his eyes ran along the vanity until a picture frame caught his attention. It was face down, Iyasu wondered why until he flipped it face up.

The image made his eyes widen. 

The photo looked old, a tall man stood in a dark suit with two children by his side. The man had a well groomed blonde-gray beard and a stony looking face, his stance regal. The thing that stood out most was his eyes, they were the same pale blue as Roland’s, the same frigid stare.

The two children stood at each side of him, the one with short blonde hair wore beautiful white clothes and a dissatisfied frown. Iyasu was almost amused by the image, it was obviously Roland. The other child was more of a surprise; chestnut curls, brown skin and a bright smile that contrasted with his plain clothes.

The kid looked an awful lot like Jerrod but that smile—it was so carefree, it made Iyasu’s heart ache. His eyes lingered until they landed back onto the older man.

This must’ve been the old master. Iyasu thought.

He didn’t look like a kind man to Iyasu but Jerrod seemed to favor him over Roland. Iyasu saw the absence of a collar on Jerrod’s younger self; he wished he understood more about Jerrod’s past. Or perhaps more about his relationship with the man in the photo.

A chime snapped Iyasu out of his thoughts. He didn’t catch where it came from until he heard it again from the direction of Roland’s desk. 

Iyasu froze when he heard the chime a third time. He slowly walked over after a moment of glancing to the door warily. The noise seemed to be coming from the top drawer of the desk. 

It was slightly opened, a blue light emitting from it. Iyasu opened it fully to see a tablet laying on top of a stack of papers. 

His heart was stuck in his throat, he’s never seen technology like this anywhere on the plantation, no tvs, no holograms, only the most basic appliances. 

A part of him felt like he was doing something wrong but he couldn’t help grabbing the device. Holding it was like holding an alien object, he doesn’t even remember the last time he’s seen something like this. 

The screen held an image, a crowd of people gathered in front of a large building holding black flags, some flags bearing the symbol of a ferocious panther, some emblazoned with a phoenix. 

Was that city hall? Iyasu looked closer to see the familiar dark blue building that had to be Faction 5’s city hall.

The image made his heartbeat speed up, even more so when he read the title of the article:

Protests erupt across Faction 5 amid the rise of missing citizens, Investigation ongoing

He almost dropped the tablet. 

He couldn’t wrap his mind around it, he wasn’t attuned to the outside world anymore. 

What the hell was going on? 

He collapsed in the chair next to him as the shock continued to settle in. His gilded cage was suddenly not so suffocating.

How long had the protests been happening?

Did this mean something might change?

Would he finally be saved? 

Iyasu felt a bloom of hope, tiny and flickering but still there. He put his head in his hands, allowing that feeling to wash over him until it settled. 

He clicked on the notification to try and get more information but, unsurprisingly, the tablet locked on him. He cursed under his breath, the need to know more itched at him. 

Iyasu looked in the drawer to see if he could find something, anything. Obviously Roland was keeping an eye on what happened in other Factions, Iyasu needed to know more.

The papers didn’t mean much to him, they listed shipments from Faction 3 and 4 mostly. It looked like some type of records, but it only seemed to be for mundane goods. 

The other drawers were locked much to Iyasu’s dismay. There must’ve been someone shady bullshit hidden somewhere. He was kidnapped probably over a month ago at this point. That strange facility in Faction 4 had all of his personal information on record.

Iyasu ran his hands through his hair, how did Roland’s friend arrange his kidnapping? Iyasu thought back, before he was kidnapped, there were police raids almost every weekend in his neighborhood. 

The southernmost part of Faction 5 was known as Bog Town, the police were so heavy in that area all the bars and clubs went underground. People walked on eggshells living in the slums. 

The raids didn’t stop, people always went missing eventually, but it was the only barrier they had that gave them some salvation.

Iyasu would always focus on his own goals even as the uprisings grew more fervent in Bog Town.

Now he wished he was more aware back then, more concerned with the corruption right in front of his face. 

Iyasu spent a little longer plowing the room. A part of him knew he wouldn’t find much else but browsing Roland’s library revealed more about the man’s eccentricities. Books on hunting ‘A greater prey than animals.’, taxidermy, one particular book on training methods for slaves. 

Some real serial killer shit. Iyasu thought with disgust.

There were endless books on American history, the America that existed more than 50 years ago. The maps in those books showed a massive land that made America today look like an island. So much has been swallowed by the sea, the ‘west coast’ and most of the ‘midwest’ was just…gone.

Iyasu could feel chills at the thought of that. That old U.S. map has always made him wonder how it felt to see the country collapse. Did his ancestors witness something so big just disappear before their eyes?

He knew more about the civil war that eventually broke out for scarce resources. A prominent group of rich politicians from the south took advantage of the madness. They were deemed the New Confederacy and even with some back lash it wasn’t hard for them to sink their claws into most of the country in one way or another.   

Iyasu has vaguely heard of the council that oversees the New Confederates. A bunch of old fuckers with Faction 1’s governor serving as the face of the group. He remembers seeing the man on billboards even in Bog Town.

He would advertise Faction 1 on commercials and tv shows; nothing but lavish towns by the water with fair-skinned blonde models that wore outlandish outfits.

The place always looked fictional to Iyasu, glamourous like a plastic doll is. Iyasu had no idea how bad the reality was, just thought it was some odd Faction for rich white folk. The extent of the cruelty here and the way they use humans like fodder painted a different picture. It made Iyasu noxious just thinking about it. 

Iyasu put everything back in place as carefully as possible before making his way out the room and down the stairs. He didn’t have a set schedule but he didn’t plan on laying around all day either. He felt restless after finding that article and he needed something to stop his thoughts from obsessing over it.

He paused on his way down the west wing. He could hear voices from the kitchen.

“You heard the Missus and Master fighting yesterday?” The voice sounded excited. Iyasu tensed at hearing that sentence.

“Chile they always bickerin’ what else is new?” The other replied, it was Sandra.

“Yea but the way Missus was screeching like a feral cat, that was something else. I ain’t never heard him that angry.” The other replied jovially.

Iyasu only vaguely recognized the voice, her name was Vanessa or Katlyn or something. He just knew she hung around Oliver a lot when he was still at the manor, which naturally meant Iyasu mostly avoided her.

“It’s cause he was fucking around with that Gin. Missus ain’t been right since he got here.” Said a disgruntled male voice.

“I heard Master dolled him up all nice like—like some pet or somethin’!” Vanessa-Katlyn giggled, her tone was scandalous.

“Master Roland don’t do that pet shit, ‘specially not with no black nigga like that, damn near black as tar. Ain’t fit to be no pet.” The guy grumbled. Iyasu grit his teeth at that, as if he wanted to be anyone’s pet in the first place.

“Hush now you two—“ Sandra started but was cut off.

“Look Nave, I know a pet when I sees one. That boy prettier than half the womens here. You just jealous, you hi-yellow and you still ugly as a mule.” She teased. 

“Shut your mouth wench, I’d probably get to be a pampered pet too if I whored myself out to a rich white man. That’s why he up there now sleeping like royalty while we working our asses off—“ 

“Stop it Nave.” Sandra’s voice was colder now, anger rising in it. “You don’t know what that boy has been through.”

Iyasu couldn’t even hear Sandra’s reply, his ears were ringing from Nave’s words. He was running to his room before he could even think. He heard Sandra call his name but he kept going.