The Mansion of Men

Jord, the Guard

It's not Pete.

Vegas knows it's not Pete. The name is "Jord" and Vegas has met Jord, before. He's a main family guard who likes to laugh a lot. He's tall, he's dopey and he's just so very clumsy. In fact, Vegas only knows Jord because Jord knocks over something, EVERYTIME he's in the room.

A testament to how low the bar is, for hiring, in the main family.

It's Jord. Not Pete.

But it could be. Vegas doesn't even know how he makes it through the entire story without throwing up. It's dated weeks... months before Pete ever set foot in Vegas' dungeon. So it can't be based on anything Pete actually experienced. It's not real. It's the figment of the author's imagination.

That Jord sneaks into the minor family home and gets caught, where he is captured and kept, as Vegas does things to him, is a mere coincidence. But Vegas is caught, unable to stop reading as the story delves into Jord's mind, depicting the vitriol inside of Jord every time he looks at Vegas. Telling of the hate he has when Vegas presses Jord's head into a plate of food. When Vegas ties him against the bedpost and...

It's not Pete. Because Pete understands that Vegas was hurting. Pete knows Vegas. Pete loves Vegas. PETE CHOSE Vegas. TWICE.

Pete knows how sorry Vegas is.

This is someone else. This person remembers every unwanted touch of Vegas'. He remembers kisses he didn't ask for. He remembers the whip of the belt and the taser to his spine. And he hates Vegas for it.

Vegas wonders if Pete feels this way. If Pete looks at Vegas and remembers... everything. He almost asks, but he's too scared of the answer. Because how do you wipe that from memory? How do you forget?

That night, when Vegas goes to bed, he holds Pete extra tight.

"What is it?" Pete asks, wrapping his hands around Vegas. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Vegas replies.

Because it wasn't Pete in that story. It was Jord.

And Vegas has to... NEEDS to remember that.