Fic: Controlled Violence, Ch. 11/30
Nov. 12th, 2009 05:26 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
khemlab.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
whatwekeepCharacters: (for this chapter) Hunter Parrish
Rating: PG
Warnings: Slavery, Child Abuse
Word Count: 959 (original), 1,388 (as modified - see Additional Note, below)
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, Ch. 10: A Fighter's Life
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![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
poisontaster for opening up this sandbox, to devilc for introducing me to it, and to fleurlb for some choice casting suggestions.
Additional Note: This chapter was originally posted on November 11, 2009, but the ending was modified on November 16 because it felt too abrupt to me. The new ending does not change the substance of the story, nor does it affect any of the events in subsequent chapters.
Hunter's House, Three Years Ago
"Come on sweetie, let's get you some breakfast." Hunter shifted his little sister higher up on his hip and opened the cupboard. "You want Frosted Flakes or oatmeal?"
"I don't want cereal, I want eggs."
"Melissa, we're out of eggs, and I can't get more until after school. So it's cereal or nothing." He reevaluated the cupboard; there was some bread left. "Or a peanut butter sandwich. But we're out of jelly too." Hunter's friends thought it was weird that he was so close to his little sister, taking her back and forth from school, eating lunch with her, asking how her day went. Their little sisters were treated as annoyances.
"Why don't we have eggs?" Even at the age of nine, Melissa was still an expert at whining, especially early in the morning.
Hunter sighed. Because I made a mistake and taught you how to make scrambled eggs, that's why. "We just are. Hurry up, squirt, we're going to be late. Did you pack up your homework?" He set Melissa down. She was a tiny thing, just like their Mama, but she was still nine and didn't need to be carried around all the time.
"Yessssss." Melissa smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Did I tell you I got an A on my book report?"
"Of course you got an A." Hunter grinned and ruffled her hair. "You're my tiny genius."
It had been just them for so long. After Hunter's father died, his mother started having problems. Or maybe she'd had them before and Hunter just didn't notice, happy in his little cocoon of childhood bliss, going back and forth to school, making friends like it was the easiest thing in the world. It all seems covered in cotton wool now, warm and snuggly, those years when Daddy was still with them and Hunter was still a little boy. Daddy would hold Hunter and Melissa both, jiggling one on each knee, even though Hunter was so much bigger.
But then it had started going wrong. His father didn't smell right anymore. Didn't look right anymore. There were hospitals, and there were nurses and doctors at the house. And then there wasn't any Daddy in the house at all. It was just them, Hunter and Melissa, and Mama sometimes. But even when Mama was home, she wasn't really there. She was curled up in her room, flipping through the channels on her little television, steadfastly ignoring her children.
At first, Melissa would try to crawl in bed with her, but Mama wouldn't have any of it. She said unkind things, called them "little leeches." She told Melissa once that she and her big brother were sucking off the last of her remaining money, ruining any chance she had of finding a decent man. After that, Hunter did his best to steer Melissa clear of Mama's room.
After Daddy died, Mama had told the school district they were being home-schooled and turned Hunter into a live-in caregiver for her three-year-old daughter. Hunter had missed his friends, but he loved his little sister so very much. He'd stand next to her crib sometimes at night, peering through the bars and watching her sleep. He was good at taking care of her, and at taking care of the house. He learned what he was supposed to do late at night on the internet, running searches on "changing diapers" and "potty training" and "fixing the garbage disposal."
Melissa rewarded him by being an adorable toddler, all blonde curls and sunshine. Then, when she was old enough, Hunter walked her down to the school and signed her up, taking the papers home with him to get "Mama's signature." He tested back into school two grades behind of where he should have been, but since he was bigger and faster than all of his classmates, they didn't tease him much.
When they got home from school that day, Mama was sitting at the kitchen table. Hunter's heart started pounding hard. Mama never sat at the kitchen table. The few meals that she took at home, she ate in her room. There was paperwork spread out in front of her. "Go to your room, Melissa," he said, not taking his eyes off Mama.
"But I'm hungry!"
Hunter took her by the shoulders and turned her toward the hallway. "Just go."
His Mama smiled at them then, and she looked so happy. She really was a beautiful woman. "Today is the happiest day of my life, children." She stood up from the table and approached them, putting one hand on Hunter's shoulder and one on Melissa's. "I'm getting married."
"But..." Hunter stumbled over his words. "But you were married to Daddy. You can't just go and bring some other man in here and make him be our new father. You can't!" His eyes filled with tears.
"Hunter?" Melissa looked up at him, afraid.
"It's okay, sweetie, it'll be all right." He folded his arms around his baby sister. "She doesn't mean it."
"I'm not going to bring him here, Hunter." His mother picked up one of the stacks of paperwork from the table. "I am moving in with him. This house will be sold."
"But this is our house, Mama. What about us? Where will we live?"
"The man from Commerce should be here soon," Mama said, turning away from them and walking down the hallway toward her room. Hunter could see that her luggage was packed. "They told me you don't need to bring anything with you."
Hunter looked down at the remaining paperwork on the table. There were two stacks, one with his name and one with Melissa's name on it. Each listed a sale price.
When the doorbell rang, it was Hunter's first instinct to grab Melissa up into his arms and find someplace to hide. Everything in him cried out that he had to protect her, that he couldn't, he wouldn't let his baby sister be taken away.
It had taken the men from Commerce three hours to find them, a fact that still gives Hunter some grim hint of satisfaction. He and Melissa had huddled together behind the water heater in the bathroom closet, the door to which was almost entirely obscured by an attached towel rack and a freestanding shelf that Hunter had hastily pulled back in front of it, snaking his arm out from the relative safety of the closet to grab hold of it just as their Mama answered the door. He still wishes that he'd been able to talk to Melissa then, to whisper that everything would be all right, that no one could take her away from him. That he would find her no matter what. But he couldn't say a word; fear of being found outweighed every other concern.
As the search went on and on, he had almost thought that they'd made it, that the men would go away empty-handed. But right before they were going to give it up and come back another day, one of the agents had decided he needed to use the restroom. Hunter had not gotten the shelf back in place completely straight, and the man noticed the outline of the door behind it.
Hunter knew Melissa didn't understand what was happening. She hadn't seen the paperwork, and even if she had, there was no way she could grasp the fact that their Mama had sold them off to start a new life of her own. But she knew something was terribly, terribly wrong. She screamed when the men pried her out of Hunter's arms. Hunter struck out at the man who took her, and then he heard a loud buzzing and felt a terrible pain blossoming out from his right shoulder. He fell to the ground, almost completely immobilized by the Taser. His last sight of Melissa was from the floor, watching, helpless to intervene as a man in a dark suit took his baby sister away and she screamed and reached her arms out for Hunter to save her. Then the man came back for Hunter, easily picking him up and carrying him out the front door. Hunter didn't know what had happened to Melissa, but she wasn't in the van that carried him away, bound and gagged, to the Commerce training center.
Ch. 12: Music, Tattoos, and Women
Rating: PG
Warnings: Slavery, Child Abuse
Word Count: 959 (original), 1,388 (as modified - see Additional Note, below)
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, Ch. 10: A Fighter's Life
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. Additional Note: This chapter was originally posted on November 11, 2009, but the ending was modified on November 16 because it felt too abrupt to me. The new ending does not change the substance of the story, nor does it affect any of the events in subsequent chapters.
"Come on sweetie, let's get you some breakfast." Hunter shifted his little sister higher up on his hip and opened the cupboard. "You want Frosted Flakes or oatmeal?"
"I don't want cereal, I want eggs."
"Melissa, we're out of eggs, and I can't get more until after school. So it's cereal or nothing." He reevaluated the cupboard; there was some bread left. "Or a peanut butter sandwich. But we're out of jelly too." Hunter's friends thought it was weird that he was so close to his little sister, taking her back and forth from school, eating lunch with her, asking how her day went. Their little sisters were treated as annoyances.
"Why don't we have eggs?" Even at the age of nine, Melissa was still an expert at whining, especially early in the morning.
Hunter sighed. Because I made a mistake and taught you how to make scrambled eggs, that's why. "We just are. Hurry up, squirt, we're going to be late. Did you pack up your homework?" He set Melissa down. She was a tiny thing, just like their Mama, but she was still nine and didn't need to be carried around all the time.
"Yessssss." Melissa smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Did I tell you I got an A on my book report?"
"Of course you got an A." Hunter grinned and ruffled her hair. "You're my tiny genius."
It had been just them for so long. After Hunter's father died, his mother started having problems. Or maybe she'd had them before and Hunter just didn't notice, happy in his little cocoon of childhood bliss, going back and forth to school, making friends like it was the easiest thing in the world. It all seems covered in cotton wool now, warm and snuggly, those years when Daddy was still with them and Hunter was still a little boy. Daddy would hold Hunter and Melissa both, jiggling one on each knee, even though Hunter was so much bigger.
But then it had started going wrong. His father didn't smell right anymore. Didn't look right anymore. There were hospitals, and there were nurses and doctors at the house. And then there wasn't any Daddy in the house at all. It was just them, Hunter and Melissa, and Mama sometimes. But even when Mama was home, she wasn't really there. She was curled up in her room, flipping through the channels on her little television, steadfastly ignoring her children.
At first, Melissa would try to crawl in bed with her, but Mama wouldn't have any of it. She said unkind things, called them "little leeches." She told Melissa once that she and her big brother were sucking off the last of her remaining money, ruining any chance she had of finding a decent man. After that, Hunter did his best to steer Melissa clear of Mama's room.
After Daddy died, Mama had told the school district they were being home-schooled and turned Hunter into a live-in caregiver for her three-year-old daughter. Hunter had missed his friends, but he loved his little sister so very much. He'd stand next to her crib sometimes at night, peering through the bars and watching her sleep. He was good at taking care of her, and at taking care of the house. He learned what he was supposed to do late at night on the internet, running searches on "changing diapers" and "potty training" and "fixing the garbage disposal."
Melissa rewarded him by being an adorable toddler, all blonde curls and sunshine. Then, when she was old enough, Hunter walked her down to the school and signed her up, taking the papers home with him to get "Mama's signature." He tested back into school two grades behind of where he should have been, but since he was bigger and faster than all of his classmates, they didn't tease him much.
When they got home from school that day, Mama was sitting at the kitchen table. Hunter's heart started pounding hard. Mama never sat at the kitchen table. The few meals that she took at home, she ate in her room. There was paperwork spread out in front of her. "Go to your room, Melissa," he said, not taking his eyes off Mama.
"But I'm hungry!"
Hunter took her by the shoulders and turned her toward the hallway. "Just go."
His Mama smiled at them then, and she looked so happy. She really was a beautiful woman. "Today is the happiest day of my life, children." She stood up from the table and approached them, putting one hand on Hunter's shoulder and one on Melissa's. "I'm getting married."
"But..." Hunter stumbled over his words. "But you were married to Daddy. You can't just go and bring some other man in here and make him be our new father. You can't!" His eyes filled with tears.
"Hunter?" Melissa looked up at him, afraid.
"It's okay, sweetie, it'll be all right." He folded his arms around his baby sister. "She doesn't mean it."
"I'm not going to bring him here, Hunter." His mother picked up one of the stacks of paperwork from the table. "I am moving in with him. This house will be sold."
"But this is our house, Mama. What about us? Where will we live?"
"The man from Commerce should be here soon," Mama said, turning away from them and walking down the hallway toward her room. Hunter could see that her luggage was packed. "They told me you don't need to bring anything with you."
Hunter looked down at the remaining paperwork on the table. There were two stacks, one with his name and one with Melissa's name on it. Each listed a sale price.
When the doorbell rang, it was Hunter's first instinct to grab Melissa up into his arms and find someplace to hide. Everything in him cried out that he had to protect her, that he couldn't, he wouldn't let his baby sister be taken away.
It had taken the men from Commerce three hours to find them, a fact that still gives Hunter some grim hint of satisfaction. He and Melissa had huddled together behind the water heater in the bathroom closet, the door to which was almost entirely obscured by an attached towel rack and a freestanding shelf that Hunter had hastily pulled back in front of it, snaking his arm out from the relative safety of the closet to grab hold of it just as their Mama answered the door. He still wishes that he'd been able to talk to Melissa then, to whisper that everything would be all right, that no one could take her away from him. That he would find her no matter what. But he couldn't say a word; fear of being found outweighed every other concern.
As the search went on and on, he had almost thought that they'd made it, that the men would go away empty-handed. But right before they were going to give it up and come back another day, one of the agents had decided he needed to use the restroom. Hunter had not gotten the shelf back in place completely straight, and the man noticed the outline of the door behind it.
Hunter knew Melissa didn't understand what was happening. She hadn't seen the paperwork, and even if she had, there was no way she could grasp the fact that their Mama had sold them off to start a new life of her own. But she knew something was terribly, terribly wrong. She screamed when the men pried her out of Hunter's arms. Hunter struck out at the man who took her, and then he heard a loud buzzing and felt a terrible pain blossoming out from his right shoulder. He fell to the ground, almost completely immobilized by the Taser. His last sight of Melissa was from the floor, watching, helpless to intervene as a man in a dark suit took his baby sister away and she screamed and reached her arms out for Hunter to save her. Then the man came back for Hunter, easily picking him up and carrying him out the front door. Hunter didn't know what had happened to Melissa, but she wasn't in the van that carried him away, bound and gagged, to the Commerce training center.
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no subject
Date: 2009-11-13 09:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-16 04:23 pm (UTC)Controlled violence
Date: 2009-11-13 03:01 pm (UTC)Re: Controlled violence
Date: 2009-11-16 04:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-17 03:16 pm (UTC)*GASP*
Date: 2010-11-07 06:57 pm (UTC)I think this is the first Kept 'verse story I've read with a sale for profit.
Well done!