No Way Out

Discovery

⚠️TW⚠️ *graphic content*

The duke sent out a new invitation, and just like the last time, the upper class flocked to his manor to take part in the festivities. Yet the duke’s precious pet remained locked up in a different room than usual. The bedroom Taylen was usually kept was closer to the main festivities, and the duke didn’t want any mischievous children to wander in, or for the slave to make any sort of disruption, as unlikely as that would be in the male’s broken state of mind. This room was smaller than the bedroom, and was made for guests that visited to relax in while they sipped their tea, or read a book. Right now, though, it was reserved for Taylen, and Taylen only. The candles were put out, leaving the male in a dark, moonlit room. Window aligned with the male’s position, shining its soft, pale light down on him.

Taylen was left tied to a wooden chair placed in the far corner of the room. His arms and torso tied tightly together with his wrists joined together by firm knots behind his back. His knees and ankles were spread, and rope strapped them to the legs of the chair. The bit gag stuffed between his teeth was tight, as usual, and a black cloth had been thrown over Taylen’s eyes. Hardened wax spots decorated the back of his shoulders where the duke had dropped them just before the first guests appeared at the front steps.
Ravus snuck cautiously through the empty halls. Guards were posted loosely in areas furthest from the commotion, and mainly surrounded the dining hall and lounge areas, but he still felt the need to keep an eye out. While he was there as a guest, he didn’t want the anger the duke by being spotted in places he shouldn’t have been. The nobleman, seeking a place to take a break from the commotion, explored the wing of rooms he found himself in. The slave from the last time came to mind. Was he somewhere here? The duke, unlike last time, refrained from saying a word about his precious pet. Did something happen to him? The nobleman was still unaware of the horrors that went on behind closed doors in the duke’s manor, but he’d heard word of what happened at the last event. Slaves everywhere in the kingdom were treated like filthy garbage. Door after door, Ravus explored the room, looking for any signs that the slave was there. He wasn’t held in the rooms closer to the main halls, and he wasn’t in the ones that the nobleman checked.

Had he been disposed of?
One more room. If he didn’t find anything, he’d return to the party. He’d need to eventually. The nobleman wrapped his fingers around the bronze handle of the final door. It revealed a small, moonlit room with a cabinet displaying expensive china behind its glass doors, a polished wood table in the middle with a white cloth, and a vase of white roses. Outside, clouds passed over the pale moon, removing the soft light that filled the room just moments before. Ravus looked right, and in the far corner, he saw a chair, and the figure of a person in it. It startled him at first, and he almost took a step back. He placed his hand over the emerald hanging from his neck, commanding it to emit a delicate green glow. It illuminated the space around him, and the nobleman approached the seated figure with the pendant to guide his way.

The nobleman knelt before the figure, and reached out, brushing the locks from the figure’s face, and revealing the securely tied blindfold and gag. His eyes widened. There was no mistaking it. The color of the hair, his size, the tone of his skin. This was the slave he’d met the last time he attended the duke’s event. The same one that he’d heard was punished for his actions, and removed from the party. His gaze fell on the countless fresh wounds, and bruises that decorated the male’s front. He could see the lash marks winding around the male’s side, digging into the tender flesh that was not given the time to heal even just a little bit. Ravus’s hand traced ever so gently downwards, resting it just beneath the male’s left cheek.

“...What has he done?” The nobleman spoke without thinking. He didn’t even realize how low, and shaky his voice sounded. The light from the pendant illuminated every single scar and injury left. Just looking at them took an incredible amount of strength. Slaves were usually treated like dirt, but this was an extreme case--which said something about the kingdom. Ravus hesitantly reached up to remove the blindfold. The last time he’d looked into the male’s eyes, they were filled with an empty sorrow that instantly caught his attention, thus why he approached the male that night. The male whose name and story he didn’t know. He wasn’t sure if he had the courage to face those eyes now. The blindfold was much harder to remove than he thought it would be. The knots were solid, and it would be much easier to just cut the cloth, but that was not an option either. Were the duke to find out someone meddled with anything, the nobleman wasn’t sure what the duke would do. Perhaps he’d just kill the poor young man. After fighting with the knots, the nobleman was able to loosen them, and remove the blindfold. He had to remember the exact spot where they were tied, and to put it back exactly how it was found. Gathering his courage, he gazed up at the male

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**A/N; I've decided I'm going to try to update this every Sunday or so. thanks for reading**