Before Randomness

Part 2

Posted: August 2003
Author: Estella Greenleaf
Rating: R

***

Dave's POV:

I expected to find Karl naked in my room; what I didn't expect was for the sight of him to take my breath away. His long shapely legs, the taut swell of his backside, the sinewy curve of his back, the broad expense of his shoulders and his well-toned muscular arms – that's the epitome of masculine beauty, right there. With the appraisal of his body came a rush of impure thoughts that left my skin flushed and throat dry. This was definitely NOT good – I was way too old to behave like a hormonal imbalanced horny teenager…

Closing my eyes to take a deep breath, I called upon the inner calm I built from a lifetime of mediation exercises. When I began to feel more like myself again, I approached the Junian, feeling more uncertain than I ever had in my entire life. For want of a non-threatening topic of discussion, I stuttered as I settled on the bed beside my slave, "I'm David. What's your name?"

I couldn't help but notice how stupid I sounded. I meant I already KNEW his name… But what's done was done. All I could do was wait for an answer.

"A worm like you isn't worthy of knowing my name," replied the prisoner with enough venom to make a grown man shiver.

Now, that threw me off balance. I stared agape at him for the longest time before I regained enough of my wits to be offended. I was the High Priest of Hyrule Temple; no one had ever talked to me in such tone before! "It's a simple enough question. What have I done to you to deserve the insult?"

"And what have you done to make me not want to insult you?" asked my slave in an even voice, as if he was pointing out the obvious.

Karl ought to be the most infuriating person I've ever met. Focusing on my annoyance, I managed to overcome the distraction of having my extremely desirable other half naked within arms' reach. Strange that it was so much easier to think now that I was no longer ‘drooling over' him. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to call you Prisoner # 626."

"I'm a person, not a number!" exclaimed Karl as he twisted and struggled against his bonds.

"You're the one who refused to give me your name," I said reasonably, watching with satisfaction that Karl was literally shaking in annoyance and exasperation. After all, it took two to play this game.

In the end, my slave let out a frustrated growl and relented. "Karl."

"It's nice to meet you, Karl," I smiled and replied in my most condescending voice, wanting my slave to know that I was savoring the victory. Of course, that earned me a death glare from the Junian. The look was intimidating though Karl was bound in chains; but it would take more than glowering to faze me.

Walking to the closet to retrieve a loose robe that would fit my slave, I asked, "Would you give me your word of honor not to harm me if I untie you?"

"I am not aware that slaves have honor," quipped Karl in a mock submission tone, clearly ridiculing my ‘strange question'.

"The only person who can take away your honor is yourself," I reasoned seriously. This, I meant with my whole heart; I didn't want him to think it was just another witty comeback.

"I am afraid that is something a naïve person who has never suffered the humiliation of being captured can believe," sighed my slave, all of a sudden looking a bit sad, as if reminiscing on better times.

The way he looked vulnerable right now tugged at my heart in ways I could not began to describe. This was NOT supposed to happen; I didn't WANT to start caring about him like that. Not wishing to analyze my feelings further, I sighed and said, "Listen, I know you're no more comfortable being chained there naked to my bed than I am having you there chained naked to my bed. Why won't you just promise you won't kill me so I can undo your restraints for you to get dressed?"

Once again, I sounded like a fool; this was a new side of me I was glad I'd never seen before. It would be difficult to perform the duties of the respected High Priest of Hyrule Temple otherwise.

Narrowing his eyes as if calculating his options, Karl answered, "I promise not to kill you if you release me."

"Very well," I said as I approached the bed, his robes in hand, to untie my slave.

*****

Karl's POV

Dave ought to be the most naïve person I've ever met. He looked SO surprised when I jumped him the moment he released me. I had to commend him on putting up a very good fight, considering he was not in prime health. I'd say he would be my equal under normal circumstances, despite his smaller size, which was very impressive since my prowess in battle was rumored to be unmatched.

Regardless, I now had him pinned on the bed, struggling underneath me to get free. I noticed how ‘cute' he was earlier at the auction, but he was even more handsome up close. Aristocratic features, deep-set merry-blue eyes, plush rosy lips and face flushed from exertion; the man looked absolutely kissable right now. Now, that's a thought I could do without at this moment. I needed my wits about to figure out a way to escape; I couldn't afford to allow this unexpected lust for Dave get into the way.

"You sorry excuse of a man! You promised!" yelled the Metaricanan as he twisted and tried to get more leverage to reverse our position.

"I promised not to KILL you. You're still alive, aren't you? I never said anything about not taking you hostage so I can escape," I reasoned as I shifted my weight to ascertain he couldn't get free. Unfortunately, the movement required grinding a certain part of my anatomy hard into his body; the result, given my strange attraction to the man, was rather ‘obvious'.

Oblivious to my condition, Dave continued to writhe against me in his quest for freedom, rubbing himself incessantly against my very naked form. It wasn't long before I lost the fight to hold in check my ‘excitement' and let out a groan of pleasure. I think this was when he noticed for the very first time the large and hard bulge pressing flushed against his leg. Promptly, Dave froze, face set in a priceless mortified expression, and began to blush a most-fetching shade of crimson. I couldn't help but wonder if he blushed elsewhere too.

"Get off me!" he yelled as he turned his head away from me.

He was an ‘innocent'; there was no faking his reaction right now. This, of course, made absolutely no sense. Why would he buy a pleasure slave if he's never been with another man before? Curious as I was, I was determined to use this new information to my advantage. Perhaps I could ‘scare' him a little and make him co-operate in my escape plans.

"And if I don't?" I purred into his ear, caressing the shell softly with my breath.

I swore I heard Dave's breath catch in his throat when I leaned down a little further to touch my lips to his ear. His responsiveness was wreaking havoc on my control; out of nowhere, the urge to rip his clothes off and take him came over me. I would have done it too, if I didn't need to use my hands to hold him in place. All I knew was that my body was on fire and he was wearing way too much clothes. I NEEDED to feel his bare skin underneath me right now…

I've never wanted anyone that badly before, not even Nathan… I didn't know whether it was luckily or unluckily, but the thought of my ex-lover completely ruined my appetite for intimacy. I still couldn't believe the man betrayed me for a position under Butcher Bob. I've loved him ever since I first laid eyes on him 18 years ago. I even vowed with everything I held sacred that I would cherish and protect him for as long as I lived…

I was so lost in my musing that I didn't notice how my master-turned-captive had gone stiff underneath me; nor did I see the large empty suitcase flying straight for my head until it hit me. Dave used the opportunity to flip me over and escape my hold, fleeing to a position a few feet away from the bed. All I could do was rub my head and stare dumbly at the suitcase, contemplating the implications of the occurrence – Dave was one of those accursed Priests from the Hyrule Temple!

*****

Dave's POV

A minute had passed and Karl was still staring mutedly at the suitcase. I was certain it didn't hit him that hard, but my magic had been very out of whack lately. In fact, my powers didn't work at all when I was fighting him; or else, he would be plastered against a wall right now. But as the uneasy silence continued, I began to worry. "Are you alright?"

"All right? I'm a slave, completely at your mercy. How can I be alright?"

Well, I supposed I was a bit relieved by the ‘typical Karl' answer. His head was okay. "Listen, I don't want to fight with you. Why can't we just be civil to each other?"

Before he could give me another of his standard spiteful answers, I realized I was just asking for the rebuttal and sighed, "Don't answer that. Let me ask this instead. Why do you hate me so?"

Karl looked at me for a long moment, as if decided whether to tell me the truth, before quipping, "You want reasons? There are so many. I don't know where to start?"

Raking a hand through my hair in frustration, I replied, "Well, I already know the obvious ones. I'm Metaricanan and I'm your new master. Is there anything else, preferably something I can work on to change?"

"Nothing you do can make me stop hating you," replied Karl softly, eyes glowing with a hatred that was not there before I threw the suitcase at him. It would seem that he hated Priests even more than Metaricanans. This was not good news.

"What do you have against the Chosen Ones?"

"You're all a bunch of selfish hypocrites who are too cowardly to do what's right. You call yourselves the Guardians of Peace, but you turn your backs and do nothing when Raphael slaughters innocent people by the thousands to satisfy his greed! I can never forgive scum like you," Karl said impassionedly with clenched fist.

"That's not true. Everyone at the Temple is doing all they can to stop the bloodshed," I argued, insulted that the man had slandered the Priests' good name with an unsubstantiated statement.

"Right, like the High Priest did all he could to prevent the war on Cynus 18 years ago," he laughed bitterly, as if reliving a nightmare.

Now I understood his grudge against us. To call what happened on Cynus a war was gentle euphemism for what Butcher Bob's men did; it was a cruel bloody massacre, plain and simple. Cynus was the first planet aligned with Junia that the Prince Regent targeted for destruction. A week before the tragedy, the leader of Cynus' Ruling Council came to Hyrule Temple to plead for help. He begged the Guardians of Peace to stop Raphael's plot. But my mentor, the late High Priest, turned the man away, insisting that the Temple must remain neutral in the political squabbles between kingdoms.

I was only 13 at the time; but even then, I knew something horrible would happen if we did not interfere. I still remembered arguing with my late master over this issue. It was the first time I lost my temper; the first time I broke Temple Rules. Cynus was also where I witnessed the suffering caused by Raphael's greed firsthand; and since then, I swore I would do whatever I could to stop history from repeating itself, even if my work was not appreciated. "I am truly sorry."

"Sorry isn't going to bring the dead back to life, Priest," Karl added as he looked at me accusingly as if the tragedy was entirely my fault.

I knew I shouldn't feel guilty, but I did. I couldn't help thinking what would have happened if I had managed to convince my master to help. His word in the Commonwealth Senate would be worth a thousand times more than my pathetic efforts at helping to smuggle the wounded across battle-lines to safety.

It would seem that Karl had this way of throwing me off balance; and being off-centered was the last thing I needed right now. Closing my eyes to push the swelling emotions out of my mind, I whispered, "No one can change the past, Karl, no matter how much we want to. All that matters is what we do now, with the time that's given to us."

*****

Karl's POV

I was tempted to yell at him, "Of course it's easy for you to say these big words. You're not the one who watched your parents murdered before your eyes", but I didn't. That would be giving him too much of myself, telling him a shameful secret that I've never confided in anyone before, not even Nathan.

Instead, I forced my mind back to the present, looking for ways to needle him. Perhaps if I lose myself in a battle of words, I would not be feeling so vulnerable. Dave had this way of slipping through the protective armor around my scarred soul with seemingly no effort; it was most uncanny. It was much safer to hate him and do all I could to annoy him.

"I see. So, the latest ‘thing to do now' for the Priests at Hyrule Temple is buying pleasure slaves," I reasoned, mocking him with his own words.

A few moments passed before he responded; but when he did, it was once again priceless. He did this ‘cute' indignant pout thing before stuttering for minutes without a sound. In the end, he finally managed to say in a huff, "You!"

As much as I hated him, I'd have to be blind to not notice how adorable he looked right now. Grinning at his annoyance, I replied with mock submission in my voice, "Yes, master?"

"You're the most incorrigible, insufferable person I've ever met!" he exclaimed before turning to march out of the room.

It looked as if I've won this first round; now that I was alone in the room, with clothes to wear and no longer in chains, I could finally contemplate my escape plans in peace.

*****

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