He minded, and frighteningly so.

Adam dodged to the right as the slave tried to jam his fist into his face, spinning back to face the furious beast. A few minutes ago, Adam had said he wanted the slave and had demanded the slave trader to let him go inside the cage with the beefy man. Once inside, Adam had asked the man to free the slave from his magic chains. This had led to a panicked argument over letting a wild beast run free, but Adam had quickly made him shut up. 

Now, Adam wasn’t quite sure if it was a good choice to go inside without any weapons. He, however, was sure of one thing, he didn’t want the slave to obey him just because he was his master. He wanted him to see him as a comrade, and it wouldn’t happen if the slave thought that Adam found himself superior.

The only way Adam could think of was a fight. Maybe by showing that he wanted to win over the slave, the slave wouldn’t be so angry anymore. It was the reason why, when the slave trader asked if Adam wanted to restrain him with the magic tattoo, Adam refused.

Adam quickly ducked as another fist went flying toward his head. Instead of running away, Adam sent a jab in the slave’s rib cage, feeling the air leave his body. The slave coughed, his breath cut short. Before Adam could rejoice, the vision in his right eye dimmed and a numbing pain traveled all the way across his face as his head turned to the side, not having anticipated the slave to counterattack this fast.

Adam groaned, not liking the way he had let down his guard.

The fight lasted for hours, both men not willing to submit to the other. The slave trader had long since returned to the front of his shop. Their bodies were covered in ugly dark bruises, their knuckles raw with blood flowing down their arms from keeping their guard up. Strictly speaking, the slave was stronger than Adam, there was no denying it. Even with the lack of food, sleep and the mistreatment he must have suffered from, he could still win against Adam. The young knight, however, was used to receiving blows and had an indestructible will to survive. Each time he was sent tumbling down on the floor, he would get up with shaky legs and run with a shout toward the giant.

Neither would give up.

And so it led to both men nearly passing out on the floor, shoulder to shoulder in a reversed position. Turning to his left, Adam watched as the grizzly’s chest just beside him rose and fell in saccade, the small curls following the movement. The man made him think of his teddy bear. Booboo had been his best friend, and his brother had sadly chosen to have two of his fingers chewed off by ripping it open before his eyes.

The slave and his plush had so much similarities, Adam just wanted to throw his arms around him and snuggle in his embrace. He wouldn’t ever confess it though, the slave most likely wouldn’t appreciate it.

Only the sound of pants could be heard in the dark room, the skin of both grown ups touching, exchanging the sweat coating their body. After a few minutes, Adam coughed, drawing the attention of the slave. Adam could feel him looking at his own chest, waiting for any suspicious movement. He didn’t need to worry, Adam was far too exhausted to try anything. The knight licked his dry lips, blood leaving a lingering taste on his mouth.

“I don’t have any intention of harming you. I’m looking for a comrade, someone to fight along with, a good friend to watch my back and for whom I can watch his back too.” Adam said, his voice cracking slightly from the over use of it. The slave grunted, seemingly not believing it. Adam let out a chuckle, liking the way he had finally gotten another sound than a snarl or a roar from the taller man.

“I know you hate the world and you must have a pretty good reason for doing so. I also hate it, you know. My intention with the following story is not to draw pity from you, maybe just to make you realize that I could help you get your revenge, if you help me with mine.” Adam started, before telling the slave a little summary of all the mistreatment he suffered from all his life, ending with the order his father had given him to marry a well-known sadist. All along the story, only the calm inhales and exhales of the slave could be heard apart from Adam’s voice. The knight felt the man’s fingers twitch a few times against his hand, mostly when he talked of the way his brothers had tortured him with a hot iron brand or when his sisters had confined him in a dark closet in winter, where he had stayed for three days and nights before a servant found him.

The slave chose not to comment when soft sobs left Adam’s lips as the story progressed, and the knight thanked him for that. Warm tears slided down the corners of his eyes until they touched the ground, leaving burning marks on his cold skin.

When Adam finished speaking, his voice was hoarse from forcing himself to speak instead of crying out. It was the first time he had told anyone his story. It was like all the suffering, both physical and mental, had been bottled up in his heart, chained and kept from escaping. Adam had never allowed himself to grief his innocence, long gone. Now, it was like he could finally break the chains. Even if the slave still didn’t want to join him on his journey, Adam was happy to have talked to someone, his body felt much lighter.

Or maybe it was the blood-loss.

Adam nearly jumped out of his skin as rough fingers covered in scars slowly intertwined around his own calloused ones. The beast had at some point gotten up, sitting cross-legged. His hand played with the knight’s one, stroking the chocolate skin. Hazel eyes, hazy like those of a sleepy monster, looked in blue eyes, widened with shock over not getting his hand crushed. Both men stared at each other in silence, before the slave slowly opened his dry lips, a heavy baritone voice coming out, making Adam’s toes curl.

“Name’s Evan”

Hey dear readers, is Evan the ML?

I’m not sure I liked how this chapter came out, but meh.

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