confinement (1/2)

morning came & he was still alone.  there was a small cistern of water on the floor with a ladle resting in a jar at its side, a bucket whose purpose he grimaced at, & the bed he had slept upon.  otherwise the room was bare.  the sunlight pouring in through the windows above moved about the room & then disappeared, silver moonlight taking its place.  he waited & no one came.  he slept sporadically, falling asleep against his will.  when it was again light he began to grow anxious as still no one had come to his door.  he tried the handle but it did not move.  by nightfall his hunger had grown strong & panic had begun to set in: he had been locked inside for two days & his meager supply of water was rapidly depleting.  banging on the door & crying for help brought no reply & he could hear nothing outside of his own voice & ragged breaths.  he wondered if the silence went both ways.by the fourth day he was too tired to move & by the sixth he had resigned himself to his fate.he had lost count by the time the door finally opened.  the light burned in his eyes & he braced both arms across his face against it.  he lay in his bed too distraught & pained to remember where he was or what he was supposed to do.“dress.”  the voice was unfamiliar.“what?”  the door began to close again.“wait!”  he scurried out of the bed & fell to the floor, scrambling towards the doorway with his eyes still closed.  the light was so bright & the air was so fresh.  he breathed it deeply.   a thin pair of pants & a light tunic were handed to him & he slipped the material over his naked body with shaking fingers.“follow me.”  this time he didn’t question & just followed the sound of heavy boots moving across the marble floor, blinking into the light as his vision slowly cleared.  he recognized the uniform of a guard & hastened to keep up with their military gait.  a second guard stood at the entrance, holding the door open for the first & for taemin to step through.  his bare feet sank into thick carpet as they travelled down a corridor he didn’t recognize: two turns & they arrived at a simple chamber door.the guard knocked & a moment later a woman answered.

she wore an emerald green gown that brushed against her bare feet & cinched at the waist. a wave of ebony hair hung to the tips of her elbows & she smiled at the both as though they were familiar friends.

“good morning, minjung. is this him?”

“yes miss.”

“thank you, minjung.”

“miss.” the soldier, minjung, bowed slightly as the woman then turned to taemin.

“hello. my name is eunsook. won’t you come in?”, she asked. taemin glanced at minjung whose face, he was surprised to see, held a soft gaze & a gentle smile. looking back at the woman, he stepped tentatively across the threshold, blinking as the door clicked shut behind him. she slipped an arm around his shoulders & placed a hand at his waist as she led him to a small table laden with a modest meal.

“go slowly,” she said, “you don’t want to make yourself sick.” he nodded as he began to take timid bites, savoring the flavor of the simple food, hunger making everything taste a thousand times more delicious.

he nearly cried when the bowl was removed from his grasp.

“when we are grateful for that which we have received we express it with our words.” he shook, weak with hunger & disoriented from his time in isolation. he also burned with frustration as he held fast to his role as a slave & fought the urges his previous role of royalty would have allowed.

“thank you.” she nodded & placed the bowl before him.

“that is better. we will work on being gracious.” she sat across from him, watching as he nibbled at the morsels on his plate.

“what is your name?” he hesitated, wondering how common his name was in this kingdom as opposed to his own where many a child bore the same moniker.

“my friends call me ‘taem’”, he replied, a sort of compromise of the truth.

“am i your friend?” he stopped chewing & stared at her, wondering if he had broken some custom, crossed some invisible line. her eyes crinkled & she laughed heartily.

“we shall be friends, taem. i would like that very much.” they sat in silence while he continued to eat.

“do you remember when you arrived?”

“the 16th.”

“it is the 24th.”

“i was in a room.”, he said cautiously.

“yes.”

i don’t...know...what i did.”

“nothing.” his brows furrowed.

“why then?”

“a reminder of one’s place.”

“it was not needed.” his tone was too sharp but eunsook only raised an eyebrow.

“and an example of the consequences of disobedience.”

“you said i did nothing.”, he replied, forcing his words to appear confused & not irritated.

“now you know what will happen if you do.” he sipped his tea & tried to clear his muddled head. “there are rules to follow & i will teach you the basics so that you will be prepared when you return tonight.”

“return?”

“of course.” she took the empty cup from his hand & placed it back on the tray. “you will be escorted back just as you were escorted here. you will be left in your master’s chamber where you will await his arrival.” she looked at him directly. “you will do so on your knees.”

“why?” this time he was unsuccessful in masking his irritation, grimacing at the knowing smile that bloomed upon eunsook’s lips.

“an act of submission. when you know he is arriving that is how you should be posed. ready, waiting.”

“do i kneel when he arrives unexpectedly?”

“no. but you should not remain sitting or lying down if he is standing. & you should do neither until he bids you to do so.”

“i understand.” she narrowed her eyes & smiled.

“we shall see. now. let us get you bathed.”

eunsook bathed him herself, he still a bit too shaky & weak to do much other than sit up. she commented on how soft his hair was as she tenderly unbraided it, running her fingers through the strands & gently unlacing the knots that had formed during his confinement. he tried not to sigh too loudly as he slipped beneath the warm water & felt her fingertips caress his skin. the cloth she used was gentle & the scent of the soap was clean. the thin pants she had him step into were similar to the ones he had been dressed in the first night. a light tunic was slipped over his shoulders as well. she braided his hair in the same design as she gave him advice on how to behave when he was again alone with his master.

the guard from earlier that day, minjung, arrived a few hours later & taemin weakly bade eunsook farewell as he left.

“i will see you tomorrow. remember what i have told you.” he nodded as he stepped into the hallway.

the guard was a little less brusque on the walk back. she glanced at him a time or two but never spoke. as she opened the chamber door for him she smiled. he stepped into the room timidly, flinching when the door shut heavily behind them. his steps were slow as he made his way to the foot of the bed, turning around, & kneeling as he had when he was first brought to minho, heeding eunsook’s words & assuming the role of a slave waiting for their master’s return.

the familiar sound of muffled voices growing louder, the door opening, & the clack of boots against the marble floor: they all echoed in taemin’s ears & he shivered at the familiarity of it. the soft shuffle of a cape being disrobed, the thump of boots being dropped, & the metallic clink of a belt being unbuckled echoed through the room & taemin focused on the beats of his heart as his blood thudded dully in his ears.

his second night with minho was a repetition of the first with the same commands & the same position. this time he was unbound & his legs were spread wider, his hands able to brace against the bed as his body moved with minho’s thrusts. the adrenaline rush of their first night had dissipated & though minho’s skilled movements were arousing, even as he was groaning through his orgasm taemin’s thoughts were on the room he had spent a week locked in & wondering when he would be let out again after this night.

he lay limply on the bed, naked, filled with his master’s cum & covered in his sweat. minho stepped away & he heard the rustle of cloth as he stepped into a pair of loose pants.

“come.”

he moved slowly off the bed onto weak legs, barely able to keep standing. the steps across the floor were cold against his bare feet & he was still undressed when the lock clicked behind him. the room smelled fresh & the water had been replenished & the bedding replaced. the bed was softer than he remembered & he stared at the wall until his eyes could stay open no longer.

taemin’s sleep was sporadic at best that night & the sound of a door unlocking had him sitting upright. by the time the door was fully open he was on his knees at the foot of his bed with his hands at his sides & his eyes to the ground. minho stood in the doorway a moment before stepping forward & pulling taemin in by the back of his head. he too was naked.

minjung escorted taemin down the winding hallway to the chamber he had been taken to the previous morning. the same woman, eunsook, met them at the door with the same warm smile & soon the two of them were alone. he sat on a small sofa while she tucked her feet beneath her on a stiff arm chair, each with a cup that eunsook had poured fresh tea into when taemin had arrived.

“it is good to see you again.” he nodded, staring into his tea, his fingers tapping against the cup. “and you as well.” he looked up.

“what?”

“when a person tells you that it is good to see you it is polite to acknowledge both the words & the sentiment.”