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The House of the Earth (2/7): The Wind in the Ivy

Jun 17, 2008 11:14

Title: Chapter Two:  The Wind in the Ivy
Pairing/Characters: Kal-El, Bruce Wayne
Notes: " The House of the Earth" is an AU in which a few thousand Kryptonians escaped the destruction of Krypton to flee to Earth and enslave its people.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1500
Summary: Kal has a conversation in a library and is told a variety of things he cannot hear.

Kal stared.  That hadn't been--it couldn't have been---

Had the human in front of him truly been reading Kryptonian out loud?

"What are--what are you doing?"

The slave's face was bland and expressionless again, the frown of a moment before wiped away as if it had never been.  Irrationally, Kal thought he had looked better with the frown.  "I was looking at the pretty pictures, Master."  He gestured down at a chart displaying the different piezoelectric and pyroelectric responses of various ceramic materials when exposed to an electromagnetic field.

A stab of anxiety went through Kal.  "No, I know what I heard. You were speaking in Kryptonian. You were reading that."  He stopped, confused.  But--that was impossible.  The human brain couldn't possibly--

"Forgive my presumption in daring to contradict one of the Arrived, Master, but I believe you misheard.  Mistress Kara was showing me the library earlier and reading them out loud to herself--"

Another set of footsteps rang through the archive, and a guard's flashlight beam cut through the gloom of the library.  "What's going on here, I heard voices and the door was ajar--oh, young master."  The guard bowed respectfully, then his gaze fell on the slave at the table, the book in front of him.  "Did you catch this one trespassing here?  And looking at the El family books, that's--"

The guard stepped forward, but Kal moved between them without thinking.  "Thank you for your diligence, but I was showing this one the library.  He--I wanted to show him some pictures.  He's here on my sufferance."

"Ah."  The guard bowed his head, but not before a speculative gleam went across his face.  "Then I shall leave you;  pardon the intrusion, Master."  He backed slowly out of the room, continuing to bow.

When the library was silent again, Kal turned to face the slave.  He was looking back, his eyes blank yet slightly wary, waiting.  Of course he hadn't been reading that book aloud, Kal reassured himself.  He had been around Kryptonians long enough to learn the rhythm of the language;  he'd just been muttering nonsense phrases to himself that echoed the ones he had heard Kara saying.

If he had been reading that book, Kal would be required to report him, of course.

But it was impossible for a human to read Kryptonian, so there was no need to mention it to his uncle.

"You shouldn't be wandering around at night, away from your Mistress's protection," Kal said softly, not wanting to scare him.  "Not every Kryptonian will be willing to overlook such trespasses."

"The young master is kind indeed," the slave murmured, bowing his dark head so Kal couldn't see his eyes.

"You could be whipped merely for being out of your rooms, never mind handling such valuable property."  Kal struggled to make clear to the man just how much danger he had been in without frightening him too much.  "And you really mustn't let any other Kryptonian hear you parroting our language like that.  The penalties would be--severe."

"And yet you, in your infinite kindness, protected me."

Kal paused.  The voice was still deferential, and yet the statement seemed oddly challenging.  He shrugged uncomfortably.  "You were treating the book with respect, even though you couldn't understand it.  You weren't bothering anyone."  Kal paused, feeling the books around him like old friends.  "I think I'm the only one who's ever read them anyway.  But everyone needs a place to get away and be alone sometimes.  I used to come here a lot, as a boy.  It was a...safe place for me."

"Mistress Kara said that you hadn't been on Earth for a long time."

"I...not since I was ten.  I was educated off-planet."

The slave lifted his head and looked directly at Kal, a ghost of a frown on his face.  "That's unusual, isn't it?  Why were you sent away?"

"It's very expensive.  It took much of my aunt and uncle's resources to educate me off-world.  Another thing I owe them," Kal added in a whisper, almost to himself.

"But...why were you sent away?"  The slave's puzzled gaze dropped back down to the table when Kal met his eyes, adding, "Master."

Kal could feel his mouth moving, but nothing came out.  The smell of blood, the wind in the ivy..."I needed to be trained properly," he said faintly.  "To be a good Kryptonian."

"Is there such a thing as a bad Kryptonian?"  The man's dark eyes were no longer flat and blank, but deep with some emotion that Kal couldn't seem to place, and for a moment Kal wanted nothing more than to talk to him, just talk.  He snapped to himself, realizing that he had held out his hand--reaching out to a slave!  A human!

He backed away soundlessly, letting his hand drop.  "If I was one, I've learned better," he said haughtily.

The slave dropped his eyes again, and the unsettling moment of connection between them passed.  "Of course, Master."

Kal looked at the way his long eyelashes shadowed his cheeks, the grace of his hands--surprisingly sinewy--on the book's cover.  "Does my cousin treat you well?"  he asked without thinking.

The man's mouth curved slightly in a smile that could only be called smug.  "She treats me well indeed, my Lord."

Kal felt a hot blush on his face.  "Are you content as her bed companion?"

"Surely no slave is more content than I, Master."

"Ah," Kal said.  "I'm glad to hear it."

The long fingers stroked the leather cover of the book carefully.  "Why do you care?"

"What?"

"Surely this humble one's fate is of no consequence to one of the Arrived."

Once again Kal felt himself off-balance, like there was more to the question than there seemed.  "My cousin works harder than anyone I know and deserves some companionship, and she seems pleased with you.  If you are content you'll be a better companion for her."  He paused and added, almost reluctantly, "And...I prefer not to see any being suffer unfairly."

"The human slaves laboring to pick your iao-leaves in the field are suffering...fairly?"

Kal frowned.  He didn't need to justify slavery to this human.  Yet he found himself answering anyway.  "Iao-harvesting is difficult work, but the delicate leaves are necessary and must be harvested by hand.  I would hardly call it 'suffering.'  We keep the conditions in the fields humane."

"Has the young master ever had the pleasure of visiting the fields?"

Kal made a dismissive gesture.  "I've never had a need to.  I've seen the vis-reels."  His gaze sharpened on the dark-haired slave.  "Why do you care?  You have an easy life as a bed companion, out of the harsh weather and well-fed--not that field slaves aren't," he added hastily.  "What does their fate matter to you?"

The human's eyes were fathomless and opaque again.  "That's a very good question."

In the distance, the clock softly struck four.  "I should be getting back to sleep," Kal said.  "We have a breakfast guest tomorrow--today, I suppose."  He hesitated.  "Would you like to stay here a while longer?  As long as you don't disturb anything.  I know how comforting this room can be."

"If I'm caught, the guards will--"

"--I know.  Wait."  Kal drew off his signet ring.  "If a guard bothers you, show him this and tell him I gave you permission.  That should do the trick."  No human was getting their hands on a Kryptonian signet ring without cutting off the Kryptonian's fingers, which was impossible.  "You can give it back to me tomorrow."  He went over to the bookshelf and pulled out a slender volume, putting it on the table in front of the human.  "You might like this one.  It's a book of fairy tales.  It has a lot of very pretty pictures."

The slave looked at the book.  "Thank you," he said rather flatly.  Then he looked at the ring for a long moment before slipping it into his pocket.  "Thank you," he repeated, more softly.

"Enjoy your reading," Kal said with a smile as he turned to go.

"I will."

As he left the archives, Kal realized that the last half hour had been the closest thing to an interesting conversation he'd had since he had left college to return to Earth.

: : :

Kal is asleep.  In his dreams, the sound of ivy is all around him, reptilian and mocking, and a boy's voice is sobbing.  Not her, it wasn't her fault, it wasn't!  It was my fault, all my fault, it should be me, not her!  Please!

He doesn't recognize the boy's voice, he can't, and he frowns in his sleep.

The next voice he does recognize:  his uncle's, cool and detached.  This is your responsibility.  This is what happens when you forget your place.  When you forget the rules.  Your responsibility.

Kal can't breathe, as if someone's arm is around his neck, holding him back.  The unknown boy's voice is weeping and screaming.

He smells blood and wakes up, sweating and cold, the dream slipping away from him.  Let it go, it's dangerous.  For everyone, he thinks briefly, a pinpoint of consciousness winking out.

Then even that is gone.

Kal gets out of bed, stretching and groaning, and prepares for another day in which nothing interesting happens.

fic, the house of the earth

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