Meadows of Heaven (21/23)

[epeeblade]

Chapter 21

The entire time he'd been surrounded by nothing but darkness and silence, Jensen thought he'd do anything to get out of the Oubliette. He'd have to revise his thoughts on anything, because even once out of the horror, he still didn't want to give Adrian anything. Of course, it didn't matter what he wanted, it never did. Jensen only had to submit and to hold on.

When Adrian pulled him out, even the air hurt his skin as Jensen shivered in his nakedness. The cold burned him, Adrian's voice boomed too loud and the light caused his eyes to water and redden. For a brief moment, he felt his navel piercing flare with warmth, and he hoped. But as time went on with nothing, Jensen found his hope sinking.

Adrian decided he wanted to put Jensen through his paces, and yes, Jensen knew what that meant in terms of horses - intimately so from his upbringing. He just didn't expect to have a metal bit gag placed on him. Stars, he thought, this place doesn't even have horses, how the hell could Adrian be into pony play?

"I expect silence," Adrian had told him, attaching a lead to the straps of the gag. "On your hands and knees. You are not allowed the privilege of standing."

Jensen figured Adrian liked the way the bit gag strapped around his head and over his forehead, effectively caging Jensen's face. His identity, the part of him that was unique was bound, made into just another possession by the locked leather bridle. He dropped to his knees and followed when led to a lift that seemed to go down forever before Adrian pulled him into a dungeon, one that looked no different than the rest of the castle, really, except for having a larger assortment of toys at hand.

The guards at the door let it close, leaving Jensen locked in with only Adrian. He kept his head down, concentrating on not biting down too hard on the gag. Jensen forced himself to be in the moment, focusing completely on how he felt, the cold metal between his teeth, the hard stone that abraded his knees. It kept the apprehension at bay, and it was almost a relief, to finally be able to feel after his isolation, even if what he felt was pain.

It didn't help when ropes appeared out of nowhere, wrapping around his wrists and ankles like tentacles, pulling Jensen up off the floor and spreading him open, face down. He'd forgotten how quickly things could change, how the technology changed all the rules. Adrian didn't have to so much as lift a finger to have Jensen at his mercy. Yet, this was still better than being imprisoned in the Oubliette.

"Mmm, you'd certainly look pretty on display in my Great Hall," Adrian mused, stepping back and regarding Jensen as if he were a work of art instead of a living breathing person. "Although you require just a bit more ornamentation."

He pulled something off of the wall, and only when he got close did Jensen see a wicked looking pair of nipple clamps. They bit sharply into his nipples, Adrian tugging on the metal chain to pull them even tighter. And only then did Jensen see the third clamp, trailing from a long chain attached to the first set.

"No," he tried to say through the gag.

Adrian gave him a smirk, but didn't stay his hand, snapping the clamp just under the head of Jensen's cock. Jensen screamed against the bite, the pain sizzling up his spine. He pulled against the ropes, but he was held tight.

"There we go." Adrian seemed satisfied. He ran a hand down Jensen's bare balls, squeezing tightly. "I'll save the extra clamps for later."

Jensen closed his eyes briefly. He'd never been a pain slut, not like Tom. But he'd have to channel some of that, try to find the release in the agony.

Adrian walked to the wall of toys, regarding the implements, running his fingertips along them until he lifted a long single tailed whip. He gave it an experimental flick, the tail undulating as it cracked against the stone floor. "I saw, you realize."

Jensen looked up, watching as Adrian moved closer, the whip dragging behind him.

"When Albaney single-tailed my boy, your master hid your face," Adrian sneered. "Coddled you. You should have been made to face it." He snapped the whip again, the crack reverberating in the open space.

Adrian only had half of the story, it was the blood Jensen hated, the acrid smell of metal that he could taste at the back of his tongue. The whip itself he didn't fear, only what it could do in the wrong hands. If Adrian wanted Jensen to cower, he'd have more luck with the shiny scalpels that hung on the wall behind him. Of course, he didn't know that, and Jensen liked to keep it that way.

"But we'll work our way up to this," Adrian promised, using the handle of the whip to tilt Jensen's face upward, forcing him to meet Adrian's gaze. "Green," Adrian breathed, still so shocked to see the color of Jensen's eyes. "What are you, sub? Not one of us, but something tells me you aren't one of them either."

He put the whip back on the wall, and Jensen tensed, fearing him going for one of the blades. Instead Adrian flicked his wrist, and the ropes holding Jensen upright spread his legs wider, until he could feel the burn up his inner thighs, and then they pulled some more. Jensen groaned, the movement jostling the clamps, pain flaring up again, before dulling only slightly.

Adrian circled him, fingers probing at Jensen's entrance. Unlike the rough treatment of Jensen's cock and balls, this touch was almost gentle. Adrian slid inside, his finger slick as it curved upward, hitting Jensen's prostate with unerring accuracy. The pleasure sparked movement, and the pain swung wildly again. Jensen cried out, the two so mixed up on his body that he wasn't quite sure what to feel.

"I've told you I can give you pleasure," Adrian whispered, his voice low and sensual. Jensen had to strain to hear him. "You know I can give pain. And I can take it all away. Were you fond of the Oubliette, boy?"

Jensen stiffened, remaining as still as possible. His muscles strained in the awkward position, and he ached everywhere. And yet the more Adrian massaged him on the inside, the harder his cock swelled.

Adrian pulled his fingers out, and then something cold slithered in. Jensen tried to pull away, squirming as that thing entered his body. First it was cold inside him, then it began to warm, getting hotter and hotter. If that wasn't enough, it began to swell, stretching his insides until he felt so full, as full as having a very large cock up his ass. Jensen writhed, but no matter which way he moved, the thing moved with him, setting up a tapping against his prostate.

"Do you like that?" Adrian chuckled. "It's my own invention. I call it the Winder."

"Get it out," Jensen growled in his throat, his words unintelligible. He could find no relief, could not sink into pain or pleasure, couldn't let the thrum of vibration lull him into meditation because just when he got used to one rhythm, the damn thing changed. And it seemed to be getting larger.

And Adrian, damn him, seemed perfectly happy to stand back and watch. He cupped his own crotch, rubbing against his erection obscenely. "The nice thing about the Winder," he started, undoing the laces on his pants and freeing his cock, stroking down the swollen length, "is that it can be worn for a very long time. It can even move to accommodate other intrusions."

"No." Jensen shook his head as he cried out. He couldn't take Adrian and that thing at the same time; he couldn't bear it.

Then Adrian moved into place, grasping Jensen's hips and pulling him back on his cock. Jensen yelled against the gag at the sensation, too full, too fast, and the thing kept vibrating.

A pounding at the door had Adrian pulling away, cursing under his breath. Jensen had a moment's reprieve, but the Winder still coiled inside him, and the clamps swung with the movement.

"Sir!" A guard's muffled voice made it's way through the door. "We're under attack!"

"What?" Adrian barked. He tucked himself in and slid his hand over the door. It didn't move. Jensen would have laughed at the baffled expression on his face if he were in a position to do anything but writhe and moan.

"Guard, answer me!" Adrian shouted, kicking at the door. "Open, damn you!"

For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Jensen strained to hear, remaining as still as possible, but he could only hear his own labored breathing. And then the door did shimmer open, revealing not Adrian's guard, but a group of guards in the queen's uniform.

The one in front shot a blast from his spear, knocking Adrian back on his ass. Then the room streamed with them, the guards shoving their way in, and making sure Adrian stayed down.

"Fuck, Jensen," and that was Jeff. Jensen turned his head to look at him and their eyes met. He burned with shame at being caught like this, bound against his will, and yet hard and leaking precome. "Get this off of him," he shouted, his arms sliding around Jensen's waist to catch him as the ropes released him.

Jeff tugged at the straps on the bit gag, his hands trembling. Jensen spit out the metal bit and coughed, needing to get the taste out of his mouth. "Get it out of me," he gasped, shuddering at the Winder continued to pound at his insides.

"What is it?" Jeff helped Jensen slide to the floor, and this time the stone gave like the spongy material in the queen's palace, cushioning their bodies.

Jensen reached between his legs, frantic to just get it out now. But he couldn't grab a hold of the slippery thing. "He put something in me," he gasped, unable to catch his breath.

"Easy, Jensen," Jeff soothed. "You're bleeding!" The clamps had pulled off of his nipples, leaving his chest marked with dots of blood.

Jensen released the one still stubbornly clinging to his dick and sighed in relief. "Jeff, just get it out, it hurts," he whispered.

Jeff shook his head, but one hand slid behind Jensen's balls, probing his entrance gently. The Winder stopped its vibrating and slithered into Jeff's waiting hand. He looked at the thing in shock, a silver egg-shaped sphere before throwing it across the room to land with a crack against the wall.

"Anything else?" Jeff snarled. "What else did that bastard do to you?"

Jensen shook his head, his body sore. He just wanted to drop into a bed and rest for a week. "Can we just go?" he murmured.

"Sir!" a voice interrupted.

Jensen looked up at Lt. Chikezie and blushed, not sure how much she had seen. He buried his face against Jeff's chest, wincing at how the normally comforting stubble actually hurt when it rubbed up against his skin. Everything seemed too vivid after his time in the Oubliette.

"Lieutenant?" Jeff turned to her.

"Let me treat him. I have the standard anti-infective and pain reliever."

"He has an issue with pain medication."

"Just with Harmony's pain medication," Jensen corrected. "I've had the cocktail before."

Chikezie gave him a tight smile. "It'll just take a moment." Then the injection was against his arm and Jensen felt the damn pinprick. He never felt the pinpricks before.

"Commander, we need to bring the duke to justice," one of the guards said. "But we'll be fighting our way out of the dungeons. Can you carry Sub Jensen? We'll form a circle to protect you."

"Just give me a damn sidearm," Jensen grumbled. "I can shoot."

Jeff, to his surprise, took him at his word, pulling his own weapon from his belt and dropping it in Jensen's hands. Jensen slid it open, checked the clip and slipped on the safety. He nodded. Only then did Jeff scoop him up into his arms. They were ready to get the hell out of here.

***

They met little resistance on the way back up to the throne room, most of the guards already subdued on the way down. Even so, Jeff was impressed with the steady way Jensen held his weapon, never looking away from their goal, fingers hovering on the trigger. He felt so much lighter in Jeff's arms, despite being held for a little over 24 hours. Not like Jensen had a lot of flesh to lose, being nothing but pure muscle.

Jeff had kept reminding the others that Jensen was a soldier, but he realized he had been so caught up in Jensen his sub, his lover, that he'd forgotten that fact himself. Jensen's focus now, despite how tired he had to be feeling, proved that point. Jeff knew none of the other Corpsmen would forget this.

When they arrived at the throne room, it seemed that the queen had already gotten things started. She stood before the throne, her armor gleaming, the light in the darkness as she held a golden sword. Subs with silver collars knelt with foreheads on the ground before her. All she needed was Adrian, and the guards pushed him forward, arms bound behind his back.

"What is the meaning of this?" Adrian snapped. "How dare you come into my home and accost me?"

The look on the queen's face was like frost. "I find your indignation ridiculous, especially when we've found Sub Jensen in your dungeon, against his will, I might add."

Adrian snorted. "You say that as if they have wills."

Jeff gripped Jensen closer, noticing how white Jensen's knuckles got as they tightened around the gun.

"I am not here to argue with you. I, Queen Michelle Tal charge you, Duke Adrian Pasdar with violating Harmony's laws. I call the court to settle the question."

Those floating screens flickered to life again, this time giant-sized and along the sloped ceiling of the throne room. Jeff had to crane his head to see the rest of the court reflected there: Duke Leonard and Alisha, Claudia and Misha, Duchess Rachel and Amanda. They didn't seem surprised, so Jeff guessed Michelle must have contacted them beforehand.

Adrian stared up at the screens, his jaw dropping. Then he turned very red in the face before shouting, "Then I lay a counter charge. The queen harbored aliens who only pretended to learn our ways, who arrived in Harmony with every intent to deceive us!"

"What do you mean, man?" Leonard asked, frowning down at Adrian.

"Commander Morgan is no more Jensen's master than I am," Adrian snapped. "Jensen told this to my sub Peter himself."

"While having a reaction to pain medication," Jensen snapped under his breath, but to both their surprise, his words were picked up and amplified throughout the room.

All eyes turned on Jeff and Jensen. Jeff realized he still carried Jensen when it probably would have been appropriate to set him down. He couldn't let him go now.

Michelle looked up at the others. "Shall we deal with this question first and then review Duke Adrian's crimes?"

"Is this even a question?" Claudia snapped. "Can anyone doubt Commander Morgan is truly Jensen's master?"

"Not all of us have had the luxury of playing with them," Leonard drawled. "I'm more concerned with the allegations of deception."

This couldn't go anywhere good, Jeff thought. Adrian had it right, yet so wrong at the same time. Yes, Jensen had only pretended to be his sub for the sake of the mission, to save two other people, but over the past few weeks things had changed.

"Sub Jensen," Rachel said. "Can you offer an explanation?"

Jensen put a hand on Jeff's chest, and he took the hint, setting Jensen down so he could stand on his own two feet while he addressed the charges against him. Even nude, he exuded a certain strength. "We have never had any intention to deceive you," Jensen began. "We sought to honor your ways, which are so very different from our own."

"Do you deny," Adrian sputtered, "That you were assigned to Commander Morgan specifically for the purpose of recovering his subs?"

"No, I don't deny it," Jensen said softly, but the sound carried throughout the silence in the room. "But that doesn't mean that I haven't done my duty. From the moment I became his sub I have belonged solely to Commander Morgan. The terms of our contract were clear right from the beginning, and not the business of anyone else."

Jeff stayed silent, trusting Jensen to find the right arguments, to know the way this world worked more intimately than Jeff could ever understand.

"Still, you intended to deceive us," Adrian said, struggling against his arm bindings.

"Did you ask?" Jensen tilted his head to one side. "Deception implies lies. Trickery. I answered every question honestly, and if the queen had asked, I would have simply told her."

Adrian sneered in Jensen's direction. "Easy to say now."

"Enough," Michelle snapped. "To my reckoning your claims have been answered. Commander Morgan has presented him as his sub, and Jensen is his sub. The length of time involved shouldn't matter. I call the vote of the rest of the court."

"Claim answered," Claudia spoke up first.

"Agreed," Rachel put in.

Duke Leonard remained silent for a moment, his lips pressed together. "I agree that the question of who Sub Jensen belongs to has been answered. I can't say whether Morgan's people intended the deception. Our future dealings with them should be closely watched."

"Noted." Michelle placed one hand on the back of the throne. "Now we shall address the claims against Duke Adrian."

Jeff had to admit, she had great timing. As she spoke, a door shimmered open behind the throne, revealing Peter, holding the limp body of a girl in his arms. He pushed himself forward, face pale, dark circles under his eyes. Peter let the body down gently right in front of the throne, and it was clear it was just a body - her chest didn't rise and fall, her eyes stayed half-shut, limbs falling where Peter placed them.

"This is but one of his crimes," Peter gasped out, his voice hoarse.

"What is Harmony's name has happened here?" Leonard demanded to know. Jeff wondered how much detail showed on his screen.

Peter looked up at the screens. "Duke Adrian has been subverting Harmony's will. She is not the first sub to have died for his whims. I found her connected to the chair in the secret room."

Connected? Jeff took it that Peter didn't mean bound with chains or ropes. No, this connection meant something else, something that had killed the girl.

"A sub? In the command chair?" Rachel blurted.

"A sub wearing the collar of the unwilling," Leonard's voice boomed throughout the room. "All the silver-collars in this room?"

"Belong to Adrian," Michelle confirmed. "A collar that is only to be used for criminals. For punishment."

"Peter wears the black," Leonard noted.

Peter hung his head for a moment, a pink flush rising on his nude body. "He tricked me into taking it." He swallowed, unable to look at anyone.

"Levi," Michelle said softly. "Tell them."

Jeff's jaw dropped at that - the queen had known?

"Five years ago," Peter began, his voice sounding like broken glass. "Duke Adrian threatened to invoke the Multitudes Law."

The other members of the court gasped out loud at that. Jeff raised his hand, "Can you explain that for the five of us who don't know what that is?"

Peter gave him a small smile. "Of course, Commander. The law states that the ruler of Harmony must own and protect the largest number of subs in the city. No member of the court may have more subs. But Adrian had acquired enough subs to match my mother's count and had another under negotiations."

"So," Jensen put in thoughtfully, "If he had more than the queen, that would make him de facto ruler of Harmony?"

Peter shook his head. "Not quite. He would need the agreement of the court, or," Peter hesitated, his voice dropping again. "He could take the throne by force."

Jeff didn't need to have Jensen's intuition to know what Adrian had threatened.

"He told me if I went under contract with him, he's drop the negotiations with the other, and not bring the point up to the court." Peter finally lifted his head, staring straight at his master. "I was a fool to agree."

Michelle put her hand on her son's shoulder. Her eyes showed her pain for only a moment, before that cold mask was back in place. "You all know the law. No sub may be forced, coerced, or tricked into signing a contract. Adrian is guilty of this."

"Why didn't you do anything before now?" Jensen asked. He looked about ready to fall over, his legs trembling to keep him up. Jeff moved beside him and put a steadying arm around the other man's waist, hoping to give support.

"I couldn't intervene unless Peter contested the contract. He'd signed in good faith, had kept the terms for five years."

"And yet Duke Adrian still amassed his power," Peter said. "Using subs to cut off his district from Harmony's soul."

"You useless slut!" Adrian shouted, seemingly unable to restrain himself any longer. "I took you in, I trained you properly, and you turn on your master like this?"

Peter opened his mouth, to respond, to yell, who knew what he was going to say. His hands flew to his collar and Peter dropped to his knees, choking and gagging.

"No!" Michelle shouted.

The guards tackled Adrian to the ground, and still Peter fought for breath. Jeff tightened his hold on Jensen, knowing that he couldn't help at that moment, though he wanted just as badly to pound Adrian's face in. A hand rose triumphantly from the ground with a tiny device, reminding Jeff of the one used to control the vibrator. Tappen stood up - he'd been the one to snatch the device - and handed it to Ian, who turned it off.

Peter started to take in air, his gasps no longer labored. He still held on to his collar with both hands, his face flushed a dark red. His mother knelt beside him, her face still not back to the cool mask Jeff had grown accustomed to seeing.

"I think he had it around his wrist," Tappen said.

"Search him for any more devices," Michelle snapped. She slid her finger along the side of Peter's collar and it came off as Peter pulled at it. He stared down at the black strip of leather in shock. "I call this contract null and void," she said in a whisper.

"You have no right!" Adrian shouted. Guards held him back from charging at her.

"I have every right!" Michelle drew herself to her feet, her dark eyes blazing. "I am queen here. I have kept Harmony's principles. You have not." She snapped her fingers, and the silver metal collars snapped off of the still kneeling subs. They hadn't moved at all during the commotion, completely ignored Peter gasping for his life. Jeff wondered if that was a frequent occurrence here in Adrian's district.

Once the collars dropped off, though, they started to move, clutching their necks and staring up at the queen in shock. Some stood and ran for the door. When guards moved to block them, Michelle ordered them to stand aside. Jeff didn't blame them, if he'd been held against his will for years, he'd have run too.

"You bitch," Adrian snapped.

Jeff's ire finally snapped. "You just tried to murder her son in front of her.  You're lucky you're still standing."

Michelle held up one hand, stopping Jeff in his rant. He clenched one hand into a fist, just waiting for an excuse to slam it across Adrian's chiseled face.

"I have seen enough," Leonard said. "I vote we have Harmony choose his fate."

"I agree," Claudia chimed in. "It seems appropriate, since he's broken her laws."

"Duchess Rachel?"

Rachel nodded, her eyes wide as she regarded Adrian with disbelief. "Yes. I can't believe he. . ." she stopped and Jeff realized how young she really was, the youngest of the court. She hadn't seen cruelty for cruelty's sake before. Jeff could tell her stories. "Let Harmony decide."

Michelle nodded. She clasped her hands together and bowed her head. "Harmony, we ask you to punish this man who has spurned your rules and killed subs for his own ends."

Jeff waited, holding his breath. He felt Jensen tense beside him, but didn't risk looking at him, too worried about what Harmony would decide to do.

Much like the choosing, a bright light surrounded Adrian, causing his guards to back away. He screamed, his voice full of agony. Not nearly enough, Jeff thought, not enough at all.

When the light faded away, Adrian had dropped to his knees, panting as he struggled to catch his breath. Jeff wondered if that was it until Adrian looked up to glare at the queen with a pair of pale blue eyes. At first he didn't understand Jensen's gasp, but then the realization hit him - Adrian had been made into a sub.

"I do not accept this," he choked out. "I will not be owned."

Michelle looked at him, her face back into that ice mask, although Jeff wondered if the expression was real for Adrian. "Then I will exile you outside the city. If you ever enter our gates, you will be given the collar of the unwilling and auctioned off. No one will give you aid in the forests." She looked over at Jeff for confirmation.

"We sure won't," he agreed, making a mental note to mention it to the captain. Adrian would either end up dead of starvation or enslaved against his will. Still poor choices for the evil he had done, Jeff couldn't think of anything more fitting. Death would be far too quick for the former duke.

"Guards, take him out of here," she ordered.

"No!" Adrian screamed as he was led out of the room. His cries could be heard long after the doors closed behind him.

"Commander Morgan." The queen regarded him. "I'm sorry for what you have suffered here."

The words were meant for Jensen, who answered. "I'm just glad no one else will suffer any more."

Peter looked away, wiping at the tears that flowed down his cheeks. "It will take time to fix this, Pasdar is corrupt to its very core."

"We will wash it clean." Michelle gripped her sword again, tapping the end of the blade against the dark rock of the floor. At the touch, streams of gold scattered along the ground, changing the color to a pale gray. All the stone started to change, the dark dour room becoming filled with light, the flickering candles becoming the same hovering bulbs that lit her own palace.

It was just a start, Jeff thought, but they were certainly on the right track. He looked over at Jensen, pale and trembling still. First they'd visit the healers, but then, home.



Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 | Epilogue