Clay:
I wasn't sure why I was feeling so blissful at this moment. I spent the day laughing, splashing around in the river. My body felt light, my usual tan skin returning to its original colour after a few days of rest and proper nutrition. The way the sun-kissed my skin during the day, the way the moonlight shone in my eyes at night… I was living in a completely different world too.
"I never thought about it," Lynne admitted. "I'm sure your experience was different, but for me, this is also a sort of freedom." He began to explain, his agreeance with my blissful jabbering catching me off guard.
"What? Your big castle wasn't big enough?" I scoffed, my tone light so he knew I only meant it as a tease. He chuckled a bit at my doubts.
"It was big, but nonetheless confining." He started, giving me a warm smile. "There were always these expectations. I lived on a strict schedule that wasn't made by me, with no decisions of my own." Lynne explained. "Wake up at 6 am for breakfast. 8 am began homeschooling. Violin practice at 12 pm. Lunch at 1 pm. More schooling at 2 pm. Dinner at 6 pm. Fencing at 8 pm. Lights out by 10 pm."
I stared at him blankly for a few seconds. "You didn't even get an hour in the day to yourself?" I questioned in disbelief. Somebody who had so much couldn't even enjoy it.
"Nope. That was my schedule every single day. Rinse and repeat for 17 years." Lynne let out a big sigh, his sigh was heavy as if he regretted spending his life like that. "Spending these last few days with you, eating when I want, sleeping when I want. You're right… freedom is amazing."
He had this delicate, wistful smile about him as he spoke about our last few days together. For some reason that made my heart flutter ever so slightly. The way he shone in the moonlight with that pleasant expression on his face, he was like the centrepiece to a breathtaking painting.
"What was it like for you?" Lynne suddenly asked me, tearing me away from my fantasy land. "I mean… your version of confinement."
I could feel my heart begin to beat hard in my chest as I batted away any memories that threatened to resurface from his question. I didn't understand why, but I suddenly found myself frozen, desperately trying to keep my muscles from shaking under the tension. This cold feeling threatened to make my teeth begin to chatter.
"It was literal confinement." I managed to say through the feeling of my throat closing in on itself. I made sure not even to blink, I feared what sort of mental image would spring to my mind as soon as my vision became shrouded in darkness. "I just... grew up in literal confinement… I... can't tell you more than that."
I grumbled, shifting my eyes to the ground. If he knew I was… what I was… I was worried he would take me back to that place. I especially didn't want him knowing what I had to do to gain this freedom I'm talking about.
Unexpectedly, Lynne appeared by my side. To me, I was so lost in thought that it seemed like he teleported there, but he must have walked over while I was distracted. He sat down right next to me, so close our hips were touching, but that was all he did. Lynne simply stared ahead into the flames. "You can tell me anything. Nobody is around." He encouraged. "But if you aren't ready to tell me, that's ok too."
I felt my stomach twist when he said that. Again, giving me the option. There was something about the way that he spoke that made me feel so much like I was in control of my own actions. Something about the way I could speak to Lynne made me feel so…
Free.
"I was a slave." I spat out, so quickly I wondered if he would even be able to catch the words I said. As expected, it took him a few moments to process my words but when he did he jolted to his feet, whipping around to look at me.
"You what!?" Lynne suddenly shouted.
I was taken aback by his reaction. The way his expression twisted in rage, his teeth bared. It made my heart pound, a cold sweat running down my back. He hated me now. I regretted with every fibre of my being that I had said it. He was probably pissed that I got away, now he knew I belonged to another person, that I shouldn't be here doing what I wanted when somebody paid good money to have me.
He was rich, what was I thinking!? He must have a whole bunch of slaves back at his castle, maybe he was going to make me into one of them now… I widened my eyes as Lynne came at me, wincing as I could swear my heart stopped beating for a moment.
That is… until I felt a warm embrace.
"Damn it, Clay. I should have... I should have been more sensitive… I'm sorry." He muttered, his voice sounded broken up and low like his whispers were for my ears only. Like he didn't even want the trees eavesdropping on our conversation. "That's immoral. It's wrong! Humans should never be sold as objects. To think you had to grow up like that…" Lynne's grip got tighter as he spoke like I was made of broken glass and he was using all of his strength to hold me together.
I didn't know if I wanted this, or if I hated it. His reaction was so strong, so angered and heartbroken that it caught me completely off guard. Lynne cared so much, just from those four small words I spoke. Yet, something boiled inside of me, making me want to push him away and scream that I was far from broken. That I didn't need to be pitied. But, I also didn't want him to let go.
In the end, I was too in shock to do much of anything. "That's enough, Lynne." I was finally able to muster. "I didn't tell you cause I wanted a pity party or something."
That finally made Lynne loosen his grip, but not completely. His hands still rested on my shoulders, his eyes filled with hurt. "Clay. In my world, slavery is illegal. I swear if I have a right to that throne… If I can become king of this country, I'll abolish it in this world too! If I don't I'll find a way to take you to mine."
My mouth dropped open at his intense words. He said that was such conviction, so seriously like he was ready to fight to the world to make this a reality. Slavery was such a norm here, it was very common for children to be sold off to make ends meet… or for kids to be abandoned and succumb to the same fate. Even adults got sold off. Prisoners of war, peasants starving with nowhere else to turn. It was a part of the very foundations of this world.
I couldn't even imagine a world without it. A world where I wouldn't have grown up… the way I did. Though I couldn't bring myself to believe him, that declaration was enough for me.
I couldn't help but smile at him, feeling the warmth of his rage and his passion coursing through my body. I was suddenly glad I decided to tell him today, and in exchange, I learned a bit about what his life had been like before this point.
We were polar opposites. We grew up in completely different worlds, both literally and figuratively. I could imagine that even if he was born here, even if I was born wherever he was from, we would still be unable to understand each other.
"You… can try. If you want to…" I murmured, my eyes sinking to the ground. He could try… I would love to see him try.
His smile lingered on me for a little bit longer, until his face twisted with confusion. "Do you smell that?" Lynne suddenly asked, taking his hands off my shoulders to sniff the air. His voice sounded like it was back to normal, lighthearted and soft.
"Smell what?" I questioned, taking a sniff of the air. It smelled like something was burning… And that was when I remembered we were cooking food.
In a flurry of shouting and chaos, we managed to take the flaming fish and dunk it into the river beside us. It was one big black crisp, the rice looking no better. Lynne's first catch was now basically just burnt coals.
Of course, we ate it anyway. I wasn't about to waste perfectly good food. I didn't mind the flavour, basically just tasted like the smoke from a fire smelled. However, as Lynne ate I could see tears coming to his eyes. I had to hold back my laughter at the sight of his unfortunate mystery.
Another day came to an end. Little did we know, this would be our last meal together by the fire.