Servant's Pride

1. Shackled

Hello and welcome to yet another pirate AU! This one has nothing to do with the overshadow series.

We're starting off a bit rough. TW: Sexual Torture, Non-explicit Rape, read with caution

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When a key rattled in the lock of the cell that held him, Hongjoong opened his eyes.

Two pairs of boots stepped into his direct line of sight. Stiff and orderly, they flanked the door. Not a centimetre of their boots didn't align with their position. Threatening, the butts of their bayonets clunked to the ground. The noise they produced echoed in the dark dungeon.

A third man strode into the cell with them. His steps were larger, the uniform different from the one the other two wore. He halted half a step in front of them to announce his rank to the room. Just like the duo, he clicked his heels and clasped his hands behind his back. Not another weapon sounded, so Hongjoong slowly rose his eyes.

He laid on the bare stone ground that pressed into his body with its bumpy surface. As he slowly lifted his head to sit up, his hair shaggily fell into his eyes. Burning like cold steel, he directed them at the group.

The two soldiers left and right were the regular cell guards he was by now used to. In the past two weeks, he had spent rotting here like a corpse forgotten in a corner; they had patrolled in front of the cells. Sometimes, they had beaten other prisoners with their bayonets only to sit down on the benches and joke with each other as they cleaned the blood off right after. None of them had bothered with Hongjoong as they still waited for his verdict.

And it seemed as if the verdict had dawned upon him.

The man in the middle was dressed in a white uniform that didn't match the dark blue ones that the guards wore. The crest on his chest still exposed him as a part of the Royal Navy, however.

Hongjoong's eyes dragged up the black leather pants tucked neatly into black boots. The coat he wore reached past his knees but had slits at the sides to allow him movement. A black corset hugged the coat to his form and mapped out the slender waist before the fitted jacket clung to his rigid shoulders. The high collar around his neck was closed to the topmost button.

Above, a young and handsome face with a stern expression greeted Hongjoong. The man's silvery hair was combed back to perfection and his thick brows graced his pinched expression with more intimidation. His full lips were drawn into a thin line as he regarded Hongjoong like mould in a corner.

"Introducing Commander Park." Loud and jabbing like a dog's bark, the guard's voice penetrated Hongjoong's ears. Pained, he bit his jaw through the dull migraine that his lack of fluids caused. Both guards weren't looking at Hongjoong, but the commander's eyes scrutinised him in great detail.

The flickering lights of the oil lamps outside in the corridor had dark shadows sweep over the man's features.

"Escort the pirate to the Interrogation Room," the commander ordered firmly. His smooth voice would have sounded nice if not for the stiffness in it.

Hongjoong's chains clanked against each other when the two guards dragged him up from the floor. They left the heavy ring chain that had trapped him on the ground detached to the cell and dragged him out in only his iron shackles. When he stumbled at a particularly hard shove, the two guards nastily laughed about him.

Wordless, the commander followed them down the dimly lit corridor. It reeked of saltwater down here, and of blood that mixed with the scent of metal. From the cells, the fragrance of excretions and vomit clouded Hongjoong's mind. The prisoners laid in their own dirt, and not just a few of them donned gruesome wounds that slowly drained the life force out of them. Further back were the cells that held multiple prisoners at once. They regularly became a blood bath, not because of the guards.