whatwekeep | Fic: Controlled Violence, Ch. 10/30

Characters: (for this chapter) Hunter Parrish, Liev Schreiber, Christian Bale
Rating: PG
Warnings: Slavery, Mild Violence
Word Count: 693

Previous Parts: Ch. 1: Liev's Provenance, Ch. 2: Liev v. Madsen, Ch. 3: Lord Bale's Gym, Ch. 4: The Charity Ward, Ch. 5: On Tour, Ch. 6: An Unwelcome Interruption, Ch. 7: Hunter's Provenance, Ch. 8: Home Sweet Home, Ch. 9: Training Begins

Summary: In an age when slavery is mandated by law, a type of gladiator-style fighting has arisen. Liev is an aging fighter who brings extra income to Lord Bale's household by training other fighters. Hunter is the newest fighter in Lord Bale's stable.

Author's Notes: Character photos for Lord Bale's household can be found here. Thanks to

poisontaster for opening up this sandbox, to

devilc for introducing me to it, and to

fleurlb for some choice casting suggestions.

Lord Bale's House, Present Day
"Keep your chin tucked, kid!" Hunter was becoming used to seeing the gym's ceiling suddenly and without warning from a prone position on the mat. Every day for the past week had been a variation on the same routine. Working on technique and sparring for half the day, conditioning and strength training for the other half. Sometimes the halves got switched around, but there hadn't been a single training day that was out of the ordinary, other than the "off" day he'd had after six days to let his muscles recover.

His body felt new and strange, already becoming harder and more disciplined. It felt less like his own possession than it had even when he was a body slave. Now it was Liev's to command, to hit, to be hit with, to patch up, to massage. To prod with a toe when, like now, Hunter had been laid out with a solid jab to the jaw. "Hey. Get up. You didn't go down that hard." Hunter suppressed a groan; Liev thought he was using being knocked down as an excuse to take a break if he stayed down a second too long. Which might have been true, but that didn't make it any easier for Hunter to pick himself up.

"When do I get to spar with someone my own size?" he complained when he'd regained his feet. "You outweigh me by like a hundred pounds. Probably more."

"I keep telling you to eat up, kid. Need to get you up to 150, at least." Liev grinned, bouncing back and forth lightly on his feet. "And you spar with me because I know how to take it easy on you. If I put you in the ring with Doug or Carmine right now, they'd beat your ass so hard you'd be looking back on this like a sweet memory."

"This is taking it easy?"

"Shut up, kid. Let me see your combo. Jab, jab, hit, jab, jab, hit. Lead with your left this time. And keep your chin tucked!"

***

A bit more than a week after he'd arrived, Hunter had his first glimpse of his new master, Lord Bale. Bale was dressed in a full suit and speaking to Liev in hushed tones in the corner of the gymnasium. Hunter froze, not knowing whether it would be better to hide in the hallway or make his presence known. He waited a bit too long to make his decision, because Liev spotted him and called out, "Hunter! Come over here." It occurred to him that it was probably the first time Liev had used his proper name.

Eyes downcast, he approached the pair. Once he was within three steps of Lord Bale, he dropped to his knees and awaited further instruction. "Ooh, he has manners, Liev. You could learn a thing or two from this one."

Hunter could hear the grim amusement in Liev's voice. "Hey, it's your choice. You can either have me upwardly mobile for a few more years, or I can go to my knees whenever I see you." Then, as an afterthought: "Master."

"Stand up, Hunter. I want to have a look at how my money's being spent." Hunter stood, carefully keeping his eyes on the floor. "Look at me. Liev says you're a pretty one, is that true?" Hunter lifted his eyes to meet Lord Bale's, and Bale nodded, walking a slow circuit around Hunter, not touching, just looking. "I suppose you'll do. You understand, I hope, that I have outlayed significant cash on your purchase, and you are expected to make it back quickly. Bad things happen to fighters who lose." With that, Bale turned and left the gymnasium, dress shoes clicking across the concrete floor.

When he was gone, Liev clapped Hunter on the shoulder and said, "Well, that went well." He reached out to ruffle Hunter's hair. "Don't worry, kid, his bark is usually worse than his bite. Let's get some breakfast. See if Carmine can't kill us today." Hunter followed Liev to the fighter's kitchen. He felt sick to his stomach, and for once it wasn't due to the prospect of Carmine's cooking.

Ch. 11: Growing Up