Lucrèce had caught the hints. They stuck to his mind like a fly to tree sap, and yet he tried his best to ignore them. Play ignorant. Give himself the benefit of the doubt. He didn’t dare reply to that, particularly when it was already ordered that Rafael put him in the rather precarious looking cage. While it was cold, while it was a constant threat to drop him into the water, at least he would be alone—hopefully.
He pursed his lips as he ducked into the cage, tense with discomfort. He missed his own bed.
The cage was barely big enough for Lucrèce to sit upright in, let alone stand. Rafael closed the door and locked it, moving over to the lever by the side. He started to wind the cage up, the chains groaning before giving a slight jerk and pulling Lucrèce up. In a moment, he was off the ledge, hanging over the water. Alcides watched all of this with his characteristic smirk, humming some.
"Try to rest, hm? You've got a long day ahead of you tomorrow with your… training~"
Lucrèce only grunted in reply, pulling his legs up against himself, feeling small. A tight frown tugged at the edge of his lips. He rested his chin there on his knees, shut his eyes, and tried his best to forget everything about the entire day. The attempt was rather difficult when he couldn’t even ignore the sensation of swinging. The elevation. The sounds of the water rushing below. “Mngh, I’ll try my best,” he muttered.
Alcides barely caught Lucrèce's words now that he was over the water, chuckling some to himself.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be in a bed soon enough~" The man let out one last cruel laugh before turning, going back up the stairs. Rafael checked over the chains once before turning and hurrying after Alcides, the only light being taken with him from the dungeon.
(Timeskip?)
(I'm thinking just before daybreak the next morning for a bit of scene-setting before the real meaty stuff happens)
(Also I know it's been pretty clear what's happening with Lucrèce, but I'd still like to ask if you're okay with it? I won't want to rp anything that actually happens during the things, but I get if you want to change it to something else)
(Yeah that works!)
(And I’m thinking the same, I’d be alright with the implications and before and after, but not actually writing through the scenes. Thanks for asking!)
(Great! Want me to just do it or do you want to write something about Lucrèce's night?)
(And you're welcome, I know some of the people I rp with prefer to avoid these subjects aha)
(Could you do it pls? I’m not sure what I’d write for his night, my poor boy’s just really sad and cold)
(Yeahh that’s completely understandable aha)
(Sure thing! I feel bad for Lucrèce, ngl, he don't deserve this)
Alcides was up in the early hours of the morning, dealing with the management of his household and the preparations that needed to be done before Lucrèce was brought up. He hummed, going down his mental checklist. The baths were ready, as well as the clothes and the makeup. With one final nod to himself, he addressed Rafael.
"Go get the goods, hm? All of this would be for nothing without it, after all." Rafael bowed once, turning and heading down the stairs. He was silent as he looked at Lucrèce, going to the opposite wall and getting a long metal hook down. He reached out with it, snagging one of the bars of the cage. Using the other hand, he started to lower to chain and pull Lucrèce in with a skill honed from years of doing so.
(nooo)
Lucrèce didn’t get much sleep for the entirety of the night. Uncomfortable, and shivering in the cold. At most, he slipped into a sleepy stupor for him to at least rest his eyes. He wasn’t sure how to gauge the time in the darkness, nor did he know how long he had been in a haze when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He opened his eyes, then, watching Rafael walk around, unable to keep himself from startling when the hook caught onto one of the bars. He braced himself as the cage lowered towards the ground, fighting against the vertigo.
Rafael carefully sat the cage down, undoing his hook with one hand still and putting it away before making his way over. He unlocked the cage, reaching in to help Lucrèce out. The man didn't react to much, just doing as he was told- get Lucrèce upstairs, quickly. Before they were both punished. The slave looped his arm under Lucrèce's shoulders, putting most of the weight on himself as he brought them up the stairs.
Lucrèce wavered once he was on his feet, suppressing a nauseated groan. He gratefully leaned on Rafael for support while they walked. Worried he might stumble to once side or the other, at least he had some sense of stability. Some help. He kept blinking, particularly the farther they went upstairs, trying to rid himself of blurry vision. The light offending his eyes when he’d already gotten accustomed to the darkness.
Rafael kept his eyes on the stairs ahead of them, holding Lucrèce close to his side and making sure the other didn't fall behind. He went quickly, not wanting to keep Alcides waiting. It wouldn't be good for either of them.
Alcides was waiting by the stairway exit, looking over as Rafael and Lucrèce came out.
"Get it to the baths, mm? The others are waiting, after all." He stepped forward, taking Lucrèce's chin in his hand.
"After all, we can't keep the customers waiting~"
Lucrèce narrowed his gaze at Alcides. A feeble attempt at a glare, though not very successful. He jerked his chin out of the man’s hold, pulling his lips back in a rueful scowl. “Let them wait,” he muttered almost inaudibly, “however much bathing I get won’t cover up the bruises you gave me.” The one on his head, mostly covered by his hair, but there were also the two developing splotches spattered over his abdomen.
(Ahh why is this just. So. Appealing to me? Swim you’ve done it again, you’ve accidentally awakened something in me.)
(It’s the morbid curiosity for me, I think lmaoo. Also here’s a complimentary artbreeder rendition of Lucrèce)
(I do my best aha, I'm trying something New)
(And I love him so much ;w;)
"Oh, I don't care about those," Alcides said, laughing. Laughing at how Lucrèce was trying to tell him what to do, trying to hold onto power.
"If anything, you'll be coming back to me with more. All I care about is that pretty face." Alcides moved forward, grabbing Lucrèce by the back of the hair and forcing him forward and out of Rafael's support.
"And if you keep pushing me, I'll make sure the customers know that as long as they don't ruin that, they can do whatever they want to you. After all, you really aren't that expensive to replace, only a few gold pieces. The ones who'll be using you will be able to cover easily if there was an… accident."
((Yeah I feel like all of Swim’s rps have sort of like that watching a car crash and you want to look away and you should look away but you can’t feeling if that makes sense))
(yeahh that pretty much sums it up lolol)
Lucrèce went quiet then. Though in his mind less of acquiescence, and more defiant silence. That was how he worked. A man of few words. And yet however much he wanted to anchor his confidence in that, if he was being honest with himself and the two other men with with him, he was just a scared twenty-year-old. Barely a man.
He set his jaw again, legs weak and faintly shaking while Alcides held him by his hair.
At the last couple comments he wasn’t sure how to react, so he just squinted. Too stubborn to let it show on his face how shaken it made him. Not that expensive? The son of a noble, someone would inevitably come looking forward him. Right?
(Yeah that's pretty accurate-)
Alcides smirked as Lucrèce went quiet, moving to put him back in Rafael's hold. The man would learn soon enough what it meant to fear Alcides's words.
"To the baths." Rafael dipped his head in a bow, arms around Lucrèce's waist as he moved to lead the other man away from the master of the house.
Lucrèce was just a toy, after all, something given over to pay for a debt. A large one, at that, which meant Lucrèce had much work ahead of him to make back Alcides's money.
Rafael did finally look at Lucrèce himself, a sympathetic, if withdrawn, look on his face. He was no different than the rest of them.
Lucrèce kept his gaze low as he shifted back into Rafael’s hold, then gradually away from Alcides. He relaxed the farther they went, letting more of his weight fall against Rafael. The look caught his eye. Glancing back at the sympathetic gaze, he thought about asking a question. One that required just a yes or no answer of course, if what Alcides said about losing a tongue had been true. “The customers,” he finally said, voice low, “is that meaning…what it sounds like?” He inwardly cringed at his own stupidity. Of course it was what he thought it meant. That and the way he phrased his question—less than concise, bordering on unintelligent, unsure of himself—bothered him the most.
Rafael hesitated, looking around. He wasn't supposed to answer questions… and he had no idea when someone was watching him, ready to report to Alcides for that extra bit of food. Finally looking back to Lucrèce, he nodded slightly. Yes, they were. The sympathetic look only grew heavier as Rafael continued to lead Lucrèce to the baths, arms around the other's waist to keep him upright.
Lucrèce frowned at the answer he got. Unsurprising, really. Alcides didn’t seem to be the most subtle man in the city, at least not in such contexts. He fell quiet again for the remainder of their walk to the baths. Luckily the farther they got the less his legs felt cramped, just slightly more limber and stable on his feet, though not enough to lean away from Rafael. Not yet. He raised his gaze from the floor as they approached the baths, taking in the new surroundings.
The baths Lucrèce wasn't one Alcides would be caught dead in, it seemed. It was a small room with natural water flow going through it- it had flooded too much, so it was just turned into a communal bath for slaves and servants. The water barely reached one's knees from the stone and sand floor, flowing from one side of the room to the other. It had been hollowed out so it wouldn't be rushing by, but it wasn't hard to imagine this water connecting with the water Lucrèce had been suspended above. There were two others waiting for Lucrèce, skirts tied up out of the water to keep them dry.
"Let's get you ready, shall we?" This person had the same collar on as Rafael and Lucrèce, voice dry and deeper than one would think. The other moved to take Lucrèce from Rafael, helping him to undress.
