Don't judge a book by its cover [ Italy Brothers ]

[Lokitama]

Chapter five ~

LOVE IS A HOLE IN THE HEART

-Murphy’s law

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Once they woke up, they immediately froze. A cell. They were in a cell, a little bit like the first room they woke up into, in the greedy man’s house that named them. But the cell was a little bit smaller than the room they were locked up into, the door was beyond creepy, and there was a disgusting-looking straw on the ground which seemed to have been used many times before without anyone bothering to change it… ever – Vino had backed away from these as soon as he woke up, knocking his brother up.

Actually, if it hadn’t been for few strands sprawled on the ground, they would never have guessed that the grey-ish thing was straw. Really.
The door grimly creaked, making shivers run down their spines. A man came out of the said door, maniacal giggles making their ways out of his throat. He was bony and crooked with the face of a rat, as if whatever divine force up there made him the ugliest person on the earth on purpose. He approached them, liking the wary looks they had on their faces, as they were trying to back away without touching the straw.

He seems feeble, they both thought in unison, it’ll be easy to escape. But before they got to move their little fingers, the man had already a grab on their hair, pulling forcefully on it. The twins yelped in surprise and pain, not expecting that – who would ? – instantly reaching up to try to knock away the crooked man’s arms. He seemed feeble. But he certainly wasn’t. Their hair told them that; he had a powerful grip on them, as if he was used to do that. “It’s time to show these bodies off, thingies. Be happy to be magnets to near-demi-gods.” He smirked. That was true, alright. When someone was homosexual during Rome’s life – at least before Christians popped out – it was a great honour. Women were just necessary to have children, to keep on making human life. Loving a male, someone of the ‘strong sex’ and ‘superior being’, shot them up to near demi-god title right away.

They shivered, never stopping their desperate struggle to break free. Until now, they had loved the freedom they had not a day ago. Tears made their way to their eyes as memories of their family popped up in their mind. The way they were killed, the feelings they had… and the baby… They hadn’t been able to protect the little ginger even though they swore it to the pretty lady-slave that helped them escaping. A strong tug on their scalps brought them back to the present time, contorting their faces in a painful wince.
Not five minutes later, they were on sale – their heads really hurting – and were, once again, on high price, too. Fear began to tie knots in their stomachs, as men eyed them, making them uneasy. All of them were different, but they also all looked like the pig.

They did not want to see ghosts again, nor did they want each other to be whipped or almost-raped again. What could be worse? Their ‘Family’ was dead, they had broken the biggest promise they would ever made and cared for, and they were about to be sold again, likely to another perverted freaky pig.

Vino looked on the side, toward his brother when he felt a rush of sadness and fear in him that wasn’t his. He saw him, head hanging down. If it wasn’t for the same ‘heart’ they shared – they liked to think that -, the auburn ‘rebel’ wouldn’t have known that the scene from the day before was replaying non-stop in his head. Maybe he hadn’t seen it, but his twin did, and he felt everything his twin felt – he was quite proud of that. So he knew how dreadful it had been for Felix to see that. He couldn’t help but wince himself when he remembered the shaky breath of his brother against him, the sudden hand of horror mercilessly grasping his whole being, thrusting its nails into his guts, the sight when he went outside, the stubborn need of his brother to stay in the hiding place, and the blood.

He couldn’t imagine how it had been for Felix when he saw all of that, but he perfectly could at the same time. It was the hardest thing to pinpoint between them both. They could feel what each other felt, but couldn’t see what the other saw. They couldn’t understand each other without having to. Both of them were now sniffing for their lost family and freedom as they looked up, their entangled hand clenching each others. They could only hope that it wouldn’t be a repeat of the pig’s mansion.

“How much for the twins over there?” A voice spoke up. They didn’t see who was talking, they preferred not to see who it was, so they closed their eyes shut. Again, the crooked man laughed once again, showing his destroyed yellow teeth. “A hundred gold, they’re beautiful pieces of slaves, after all. Especially the girly one ‘she’ ‘s really beautiful.” Only by hearing the voice of the man, they shivered and felt nauseous. What kind of deeds had he done in his life to be as wicked as he was ?

Fortunately, soon enough, they wouldn’t be in his grasp anymore. But to be in whose ? The one that would buy them could be the same or even worse.
“They seem to be badly hurt somewhere, from the way they stand, you wouldn’t sell me crazy and dangerous slaves now, would you ?

-Hhn ! Of course not, all of my merchandise is first-quality.

-Really ? And that girl over there ? It doesn’t seem first-quality to me.

-H-Hihin ! I-I’ll make you a price ! … B-But you have to admit that, under the straw and dirt, she really pretty, hmm ?

- How much ? Oh, you know, I’ve seen better, she’s only so-so.

- They’re 75 gold, only for you, isn’t that smooth ? I have plenty of other objects to sell, but, you know, if I expose them all in the same it, I can’t watch them, some can escape and it would ruin me. I don’t want to close the shop and sell myself, it would be an ironic shame. Take it or leave it.

-I’ll take them for 40 golds, no more, no less, they’re not in a good shape enough to be this expensive. You should wash your merchandise, though, and they seem famished, you won’t make any sales like this. All of them. And I really hope you won’t sell yourself, everyone would run away as soon as they saw you, crooked man.

-Uurh. Okay- just… Okay. You’ll take them for 40 golds, but don’t talk to anyone about me treating them that way; I still need my money.”
The sound of money falling into a palm was heard, as well as a snicker from the man buying them. “Don’t worry about that, crooked little man, I won’t tell a thing: it’s kind of obvious, your clients will quickly notice it without me.” The twins opened their eyes, and wished they hadn’t; the face of the small man was right under their noses, and it was really scary: they could see every single deformed part of his wrinkled face, and worse: smell him. Once again, a shiver – a really strong one – ran down their spines. Shackles quickly weighted their arms, meaning they had been bought. The boys didn’t dare look at the buyer, they were way too afraid to see what kind of man had bought them. What if he was another pig ? What if the man was as cruel as he was ? Or even crueler? W-What if he killed Felix while he was whipped because he hadn’t had the time to wash after careless workers putting mud everywhere ? A-And what if Vino was finally raped ?

As they shaked for each other – both of them caring more for the other – they were thrown into their new dominus arms. Both of them gasped when they felt hands touching them. “Careful there-!” ‘You could have hurt me’, they completed in their heads “-You could have hurt them, they’re still kids for Jupiter’s sake.” They opened their eyes wide; he hadn’t cared for himself only, nor for them in a ‘item’ way. He had cared for them for who they were… he cared for them in a ‘human being’ way. They snapped their heads up, toward the dominus who owned them now, and were left in awe as they saw a disapproving frown marrying his traits while he looked at the slaver seller.

Actually, he didn’t look like the pig at all. His body was, in fact, tall and thin, and a little beard was blossoming on his pointed chin. He did look old, but his eyes seemed to keep eternal youth within them. As he turned to the twins, a playful glint shone in his brown orbs. The crooked man began to rant about something, as their master motioned them to follow him.
For once, when a dominus ordered them something – even if it was only the second one – they happily complied.

As they were walking to ‘their’ new house, they talked, and really wanted to laugh; wanted to because they couldn’t risk familiarity with the man yet. If they cared, what if he was brutally murdered like their family was ?
Anyway, they quickly found out that their dominus had his heart on his sleeve and that he was a worshipper of their gods. He also, he –obviously- considered slaves as human beings, and thus treated them like human beings, even if he didn’t deny that domini were domini and that slaves were slaves. One was at the service of the other, but still deserved respect. Beating life out people because they had broke a plate wasn’t his hobby; it happened to everyone.

As they arrived, they instantly noticed the fairly simple mansion – no fancy sculptures or floral montages. They couldn’t see as much slaves as in the last mansion, but as they saw one or two, they felt the happiness floating around them. He certainly wasn’t as rich as the pig, but his house was full of life, and that was way more important !

“I’ve just notices that we talked and talked even more, but I didn’t ask for you names.” The boys nodded and presented themselves, unable to stop their smiles. “Vino and Felix, then. Let me show you your rooms.

-U-Um…” The little voice of one of the twins spoke. “C-Could we… Could we have the same room ?” The other said, as unsure as his brother. When they were at their previous dominus’ mansion, they slept near the whipping room, with all the other slaves, in separated little cells. And even them were separated, and the metal bars were already too much distance between them. They really hoped that this master was kind enough to let them be in the same room –or cell, it was the same, right ?

The man seemed surprised for a short time, but quickly smiled. “Of course you can, let me show you your room, then.” He walked with energy within the house, despite his advanced age, and after few minutes, stopped in front of a wooden door – in a hall full of doors for that matter – and opened it. The room – their’s ? – was at a fairly normal size, but to them, seemed giant.

“If you ever have a problem during night, you can go knock on the door here-“ He pointed the said door “-and a nice lady will be glad to help you.” They nodded. “Now, let’s show you two around.” Thus, they discovered places like the kitchen, the guestroom, the living room, etc. within one hour. They also met lots of people that didn’t look like ghosts !

The day passed too quickly for their liking; talking to everyone was so interesting; they couldn’t keep their faces straight: each time they talked to someone a smile graced their lips, and… they felt home already. It was the same feeling as ‘family’. But… even though these joyful events, they… felt scared, and sad: what if the same happened to the house? They couldn’t bear to experiment the same sight and feeling as their actors troupe family cruelly murdered. They weren’t able to do anything. Maybe they could have done something ?

In a blink, it was already night time, and the twins had been tucked to bed. Unfortunately, they couldn’t sleep, nightmares plaguing them. And for the first time ever, they couldn’t count on themselves to comfort each other. Well… for nightmares it is. Because the pretty girl at the pig’s house did comfort them many times. They didn’t want to bother neighbor, even though the dominus had said they could go anytime during night. They really didn’t want to. But the darkness made them shiver non-stop, and each shadows on the walls made them shake from head to toe. In a final decision, they went out of the bedroom without any sound.

They gulped down, breathed slowly in and out as if they were one, and knocked on the door. A yawn made his way through the wood, and the sound of footsteps became louder and louder, meaning that someone was coming their way to open the door. And it opened indeed.

Felix suddenly felt… empty. As if Vino wasn’t there anymore. He also felt the hand of his brother less clenched against his. He felt disconnected, actually. A blush made his way on his cheeks, but it wasn’t his: it was his brother’s, who was blushing so much that the docile twin was affected. It scared him a little bit- no, wait. Saying that it scared him a ‘little bit’ was a big fat lie. He was scared senseless.

Vino’s eyes were focused on the figure in front of them and… he felt like his brain had shut down. A blush rose to his cheeks, as he stared at the woman by the door. She was incarnated beauty. His heart was beating faster and faster, his eyes glued to her curvy forms. He didn’t knew what all of these feelings were called love. Nor did he know that the aching but warm burn in his whole body was not an illness. And if he was sick, it was lovesick.

“What’s wrong with you two ? Have you trouble sleeping ?”
The ‘docile’ twin cheeks burned even more, and he began to seriously wonder what was wrong with his brother. Obviously, he also forgot how to nod, since he had been the only one doing so. “N-Nightmares…” He muttered his voice full of worry for his brain-dead brother.

“Oh. Well… Come with me, I’ll make you some warm milk. If you want to, I can put some honey in it to sooth you to sleep.” Felix nodded again, pulling on his brother hand to get him to walk, on which he complied easily.
As he drank the milk, the ‘docile’ kept a watchful eye on his brother who wasn’t touching any of his drink. After few seconds, he put his cup on the table with a noisy ‘bonk’ and touched slowly Vino’s shoulder. ‘What’s wrong?’ He asked with his eyes, but the other’s were stuck on the lady’s figure – she was making braids in her long, long hair. Felix was left hurt. That his brother didn’t return the look wasn’t a daily occurrence, but it could be understood, but that he didn’t ‘heard’ him – more likely felt him ? It hurt him very much. He decided to voice his worry out loud. “V-Vino… ? W-… W-What’s wrong ?”

Frankly, he wasn’t used to speak orally to his brother. It was a rare occurrence, and when they did it, it was because they couldn’t have eye-contact or that the words were too complicated to explain through their dark-brown eyes. And, only by knowing this, it was easy to figure out why he was so terrified by the lack of response to such a simple question as ‘what’s wrong’.

Vino simply turned his head on the side, toward his brother, humming, obviously in another world. A world forbidden to Felix. And… it hurt him even more. It was the first time he wasn’t ‘with’ his brother. Why did he act that way ? “Y-You should… Y-You should drink your milk… it’s getting cold…” The ‘rebel’ brother nodded, looking dazed and took his cup without any conviction, sipping it slowly.

The lucid twin was tempted to go out and back to their bed, but he didn’t want to leave without his brother.

Few minutes later, the lady spoke, telling them it was time to go to bed again. Fortunately, Vino finished his cup in time. She tucked them to bed and went back into her room. Just then, Felix felt the connection again. Unknown feelings crashed against his, almost oppressing them. If he was a little bit groggy, he suddenly was wide awake. “You find her beautiful, brother ?” Yeah, sure, she was really beautiful, he couldn’t deny that, but her prettiness had temporarily killed his brain! His twin hummed again, “Beautiful… yeah…. This word looks like it was made for her…”

At that point, Felix was seriously scared – and concerned : his brother had been brainwashed in a matter of second. This night, Vino slept tight, as his brother couldn’t keep his eyes closed, too scared of everything.

The time felt long. And, when he heard footsteps, he noticed that there was light in his room. As he turned his head toward the door, his neck cracked loudly. A knock echoed in the room, so he slowly went out of bed, and opened the door. It was the dominus, ever smiling, coming to wake them up. “Hello, young man. Ready for your day ? Is Vino up ?” Felix glanced behind him to see if his lovesick brother was yawning out the sleep in his body; he wasn’t. He merely shook his head to man who gently smiled down. “You look like you’ve just saw your genius. Did you sleep enough ? You’re really pale.” Once again, the boy simply nodded, but his curiosity had been ticked off. “What’s a genius ?”

“It’s… Oh… How to explain ? A genius is like a spirit that floats around you and looks just like you, acts as your inner self, keeping you away from danger, and helps you to do a certain move, or decision. Didn’t ever you ever felt like someone, something was whispering into your ear to do a certain thing, at a precise instant ? Well, all of these little voices are genii. If you do something bad, and that you feel guilty, it’s because your genius is ashamed of you, and keep whispering that what you’ve done was bad, or wrong.” Felix nodded, awed by the fact that genii existed – did he had one, too ? – but soon, his attention was stole away by his waking brother, who obviously had one of his best nights. He seemed to be back to normal, but the key-word was ‘seemed’, the ‘docile’ twin could still feel the half-emptiness in his heart. Vino locked his eyes with his brother’s and merely nodded to say ‘good morning’ and instantly got a worried nod back… which seemed perfectly normal to him.

A tie of the bond had just been weakened

The old man shot them a smile, even though the awkward and tense atmosphere, and asked Vino if he slept well. He did, good for him. He leaded them to the kitchen – Vino stared at their neighbor’s door till he couldn’t anymore because of his neck – and served them breakfast. Let’s rephrase that. The dominus was serving slaves food. The twins were amazed, why wasn’t it the other way around ?

“Here you go; it may not be as good as the chef’s food, since I practice very little my cooking skills.” When they took the first bite, they knew what he was talking about; it was good, but definitely not great. But to them, it was more than enough. In their previous’ master’s mansion, they had little food, and all of it seemed and tasted bad. “Today, there’s a big festival in town. Would you like to come ?” All one-sided tension was quickly forgotten as both of them nodded, excited about seeing a festival, and not animating it by playing on scenes with their family

“Let’s go !” The old man cheered. After few minutes, they arrived in the center of the town, and were in awe at the sight; it didn’t seem to be the same town than yesterday at all ! They looked at dancers, entertainers, actors, they looked at everything. But what was about to come… came. Felix wasn’t the only one looking at everything in details, Vino was too. And before long, the ‘docile’ twin lost the connection again. His brother was staring at the dancers and at one dancer particularly… it was their neighbor !

He shaked Vino, and asked the old to go to the entertainers – so his brother wouldn’t see her. “What’s going on, Vino ? What’s wrong ?

-Um… When she dances and show her body off like that… I-

-She’s like a bird opening wide its wings, ready to take off, isn’t she ?, interrupted the dominus, In her country – Hispania – she was in a dancer’s troupe. But all of them were dispersed as they were sold to different people.” Felix nodded, and when the adult finished talking, he turned back to his brother, a stern glint in his dark-brown eyes staring into the equally dark-brown, dreamy, gazing into nothing eyes of his brother. “What do you feel, Vino ?

-I… I… I feel like hell is opening under my feet.” Felix felt… troubled. He did not know what ‘hell’ was, just like his brother did, but they felt like they did, and it felt like the appropriate term for the sentence. He sighed – Vino did the same, but not for the same reasons – and looked up to his brother, heartbroken. “ You want to go back to see her, don’t you ?” The ‘rebel’ twin eagerly nodded, a hopeful shiny glint in his eyes. Felix turned to the old man, who nodded. “Go.. Go on…” Felix said. His twin made a happy squeal, and quickly jumped on his brother to hug him before running off the see the woman.

Saying that Felix thought he and his brother would always be together. In everything they would do. He looked at the dominus, and asked if he could see by himself the festival, too. The man said yes, once again, looking a little worried. He really needed some time… alone. The word sounded foreign to him. Before ‘alone’ meant him and his brother… now… it meant only him. He frowned. Why was his heart feeling so tight, like if it was about to explode ? He felt like running away. Far, far away from everything, from everyone. He looked around himself, and only saw happy faces. Why was the whole world so unfair ? He thought, while escaping from joy, not wanting to be the black sheep. He sat down in an alleyway, and hugged his knees.

What was wrong with his brother, already… ? Why couldn’t he communicate with him the way they usually did ? Maybe… Maybe he could force it ? At least for him to know what his brother was feeling. He closed his eyes and tried to visualize their connection.

For a strange reason, everything around him was dark but a tight rope going into his heart, glowing in green, white and red, bounded to something far in the darkness.

In his mind he slowly approached his brother’s side, and, step by steps, he began to feel it; what Vino felt. He felt his heart beat increase with an unknown excitation and joy, even though his was swelled in a constricting feeling he couldn’t describe. Rushes of foreign happiness went through his veins as a smile that wasn’t his was forced on his lips.

He had enough. It was more than enough. He went back to himself, lips turning quickly into a sad frown, and jumped in surprise when he saw two strong legs right in front of him. “Finally awake, useless kid ? The voice was deep and full of hatred – what had he done wrong this time ? He looked up to the face of a man to see a really big chest and neck with a tiny, tiny – awful looking – head on it. “Don’t you dare interfere with my relationship with Esmeralda, you filthy piece of shit.” If fear didn’t struck him like it did now, and restrained him from doing anything, he would have kindly asked who was Esmeralda and, also, who the man could possibly be. “She told me everything, brat, the fact that you and your stupid talkative brother woke her up, and that you were ‘so cute’. I’m gonna show you not to be cute in front of her. Don’t come in our love way, brat !”

What was he talking about ? Their neighbor ? So she was named Esmeralda… But Vino hadn’t said a word, it was he who did all the talking !

Oh…

The man mistook him for his brother. They were twin after all, weren’t they ? Before he could say anything, he was lifted by his arm and a knee lodged himself in his belly. All forms of air were forced out of his little lungs, and he was left unable to breath in for a short time.

“Can’t you understand, brat ? Not only you’re only ten, so you can’t go with her, but I fell in love with her the moment I looked under her gypsy dress !” Felix pained to understand – or even hear – anything, and had his hands clasped against each other, fingers intertwined, where the hit had been given. The man smugly poked him with his feet in the face.
“What are you doing ? Praying a god ? What’s the use of praying our lady the goddess of love anymore. She’s mine. Esmeralda is mine, praying won’t change anything, little shit !
-B-B… But !” The man yelled angrily at his attempt to say he was mistaking him for someone else, and began to hit him again. Felix tried to ask Vino to help him, but the only dazed thoughts of his brother replied. Flashes of the gypsy – Esmeralda – popped in his head, and stupid looking guys holding rocks appeared under his wet, closed eyelids. ‘Who’ll be the first one to throw her a rock ? That one won’t be worth living on earth.’ …

It was obviously no use calling him, his brother was too brainwashed by whatever brainwashed him. “P-Please ! Plea-” A loud gasp. “P-Please s-s…stop !” He miserably coughed. To his surprise, the man did stop. He looked up with hopeful eyes, but his blood went cold when he saw what the man was drawing out. The man was taking out a knife of his pocked and made a deep but not-so-deep in the same time cut in his shoulder, it stung really badly.

At least, it was only one hit, and now, he was going away. He stayed on the ground, catching his breath. This man… was after Vino. And, subconsciously, he was glad he got the beating instead of his brother : that way, he had protected him. But his mood certainly wasn’t lifted. The tight feeling grew worse as he thought that he could be ‘Vino’ when this man was around, and he could feel his eyes and the tip of his nose sting from the well-known ache of tears.

He looked over his injured shoulder. He had to wash that, he thought, because it could worry his brother. And he just needed to say that staying too close to that woman could be dangerous, right ? He didn’t have to worry him in the same time, right ?

Trying to keep his breath steady, he quickly stood up, wincing every time he had to move his injured arm, and went to the nearest water point. Fortunately, there was no one. He groaned in pain when he kneeled in front of the forgotten fountain, and the groan went louder when he hit his cut with the cold water.

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Rome’s breath suddenly hitched, for no reason, as a little, annoying pain pinched his shoulder. What was wrong, now ? Nobody had hit him yet, and his past injuries were now fully healed. Plus, there wasn’t any fighting in this part of Hispania. It was just a ‘set traps and wait for them to surrender’ operation.

A plan that usually worked quite well.

So where did this pain come from ?

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Vino was mesmerized by the woman, so much mesmerized he didn’t notice the pain in his shoulder, nor the reddish color it took. From there, it looked like a burn – and felt like one, if he paid attention.

‘Oh please… just… once…’ echoed a distant voice in his head, he didn’t really took care of that…

Unfortunately, he should have.

At least for his brother’s sake.

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Felix winced, tears pouring out of his eyes. Why did it hurt so much ? Inside and outside ? It wasn’t faire ! He closed his eyes, trying to ease the stingy feeling. “Oh please, Lucifer, just let me once be jealous and angry at someone.” He whispered, frowning. Once again, he didn’t what a ‘lucifer’ was, but it felt like the appropriate term.

He wanted to be near his brother so bad, but far away from the neighbor. But apparently, Vino would be stuck to her like a flea would be to a dog. He hated doing that comparison, but there was no other he could think of.
Looking around to see something to bandage himself, he saw an abandoned shawl on the ground, and approached it, noticing the terrible state it was in. He took it and finished ripping an already badly ripped part of it, and messily bandaged his shoulder, not used to do that by himself – when he and his brother were at the pig’s, it was either the nice lady, or themselves who bandaged each other.

When they went back to the festival, everything seemed less appealing and… less funny : his brother wasn’t here by his side. That was already abnormal.

As he looked over the crowds, he caught a glimpse of an upward curl, and smiled gently but sadly. At least he was happy, right ? He slowly turned toward the dancers, and saw one with a multi-colored dress. On a second glance, Felix noticed it was the pretty and dangerous neighbor.

He instantly looked somewhere else, searching for his brother again. Keyword : Searched. He didn’t find him right away, and it panicked him when he wasn’t at the same place than two seconds ago. What if the man came back, realizing he had made a mistake ?

Where was his brother for Jupiter’s sake ? He couldn’t find his curl in the crowd anymore ! His heart began to beat faster and faster as fear was taking over. What if he had been kidnapped ? What if he was sold back to a slave shop ? What if he had been took by the man, and killed by his knife ? What if-

-He suddenly saw Vino’s head sprouting out of the crowd, on the shoulders of the old man. Relief washed over him. For some reasons, he trusted the dominus, and seeing his brother near him felt safe.

The festival passed too quickly for Vino, and way too slowly for Felix, who only wished to be next to his twin. Fortunately, it was time to go to sleep, and he would be against him, and he would tell him that the woman could kill him – even if it wasn’t directly. As they finished eating and doing the dishes – Vino was washing and Felix went painfully put the plates in stacks, his shoulder restraining his moves – the ‘docile’ twin approached his
brother, and was more than happy when he did the same. “Vino, I have to tell y-

-We can sleep with Esmeralda tonight, if we want to ! She said so !

-E-Esmeralda ?” Felix flinched, voice a bit squeaky. “Oh, yeah. You don’t know her name, yet. She our neighbor !” Oh, he knew that alright. But he hesitantly nodded, not sure of the way to reply to that. His lips trembled in sadness, fear and pain. What if Vino gave up on him forever ? What if he hated him forever because he didn’t want him to go near Esmeralda ? W-What if the man came back and hit his brother ?

Even if his eyes were dropping from sleepiness – his body really needed to rest – he smiled to his twin. “Go agead, I’ll join you later: the dominus said he needed me.

-Okay !” And he ran off, leaving his beaten twin alone in the kitchen.

Okay ? Okay ?! Just okay ?! Not even a disappointed look, or just a ‘I’ll come with you’ ? Nothing ?! His cheeks puffed red as he stomped his way off, toward the bathroom. Luckily, there was no one. Not that he cared, he was too angry at his brother. He hadn’t even been worried ! The pig ‘needed’ him too, and he wasn’t even worried when he was saying that the master needed him ?

He angrily undid the bandage, moaning out loud, feeling the harshness of the cut on his shoulder. He looked at his reflection in the polished metal on the wall, something he would keep doing for a long time. It wasn’t a neat cut at all. It was even taking weird colors. That, and that his piece of torn shawl wasn’t serving as a bandage anymore, the humid air hit his wound and made him pant. It wasn’t fair…

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t FAIR, he yelled in his mind hitting the wall with his bad arm. A sharp pain reminded him not to do that anymore, and reminded him that being angry wouldn’t help his wound to heal faster. He felt something wet drip from the wound – weird, he thought, I’m not in the water, yet.

… Great, he was bleeding again. He continued to stare at the blood, remembering suddenly the blade cutting through Boss’ flesh, murdering him on the spot. His left hand twitched, as if it wanted to clench on something. But it didn’t. There wasn’t anything to clench on. There was no Vino’s hand to feel complete.

His breathing sped up, sounds, sight and feelings clashing against each other in his memories.

There laid a lonely Felix against the bathroom wall, tears rolling down his dull face, plagued by bloody memories.

As he closed his eyes, he cruelly heard a happy laughter… his brother’s, as well as his feels and thought, foreign joy coursing through his veins. ‘I’m so happy I managed to brush my fingers through Esmeralda’s hair.’
Felix re-opened his eyes with a jolt, pain taking over once again. His body frequently twitched, as either nightmares or his brother’s feelings kept him from sleeping, naked, cold, on the bathroom’s floor and wall, with a bloody arm.

He’d better use himself to it, seeing what was coming their way… or at least his’.

[Lokitama]

Chapter six's up !

Do anyone has free time ? I'm desperately searching for a beta-reader :cryingspain:

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LOVE IS A HOLE IN THE HEART

-Murphy's law

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Vino woke up, yawning and stretching contently : it was so good to feel his limbs crack after a long peaceful night ! He looked on his side, 'Good Morning, brother !' he said through their connection, expecting to see his brother doing the same as him right next to him, and expecting to have the same exact reply. But... nothing. Nothing at all. "Felix ?" Vino frowned. Why did his brother not reply ? Was he still sleeping ? A cunning smirk splashed all over his lips, as he made a quick scheme in his mind.

His tongue stuck out as he slowly slipped out of bed, trying not to make too much noise. He then carefully made his way on Felix's side, and took few meters of distance... before running and jumping on his brother- he didn't see the figure of a woman sleeping !

He oddly fell, expecting to land on someone. There was no one looking like his twin in the bed ! There was no auburn-haired Felix. The rebellious twin paled considerably, as his heart began to panic. Where was he ? Where was his twin ? He felt cold all of a sudden. If he was in the mood to analyze his own body's signals and ways to tell him something was wrong, he would have sworn his blood was frozen over, except for a pretty large spot on his right shoulder. But he didn't notice it as he was too panicked for his brother's disappearance : instead, he jumped out of the bed, startling the lady who managed to sleep through the little commotion from earlier.

He hadn't really saw her, all of his mind focused on where the hell his brother could be. "Vino ?" He turned around, thinking it was Felix, but the sound of the voice was too feminine to be Felix's. The figure in front of him managed to shake him out of his state. It was, of course, Esmeralda. He remembered now, he had told Felix yesterday night he would be sleeping with Esmeralda ! His worries flew away as he felt himself going dumb for her beauty, but still wondered where his brother could be : he had told him he would be coming later, right ? Right ? "Is something bothering you, dear ?" He nodded, glancing at the door - maybe Felix would burst out of it yelling 'surpriiise', but it was kind of out of character, wasn't it ?

"I... I-I... don't know w-where my brother is..." The gipsy's face softened as she sat up to pat Vino's head. "He must be in the kitchen, or in the bathroom." She looked over the window, her feminine traits bathing in the sunlight, making her look like a goddess, or an angel - even if he couldn't quite describe what an angel was. She was truly beautiful. "It's already late in the morning : don't worry about him. He's surely okay."

Thus, Vino trusted her. He shouldn't have.

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Felix gasped when he felt a faint new connection to his brother - it wasn't the same when he was sleeping and being awake - : he once again hadn't been able to close his poor, tired little eyes, and he felt drained. There was no energy left in his body anymore. Everything just hurt, even if he was only hurt on his shoulder.

Speaking of pain, he looked over the said shoulder, too look at his wound : apparently, it had closed itself, and got infected. Great. He wasn't in the mood, nor in the physical condition, to think about it.

Slowly, he closed his eyes, panting a little bit as his shoulder badly stang : it took a nasty yellow-green-ish color over the night.

Ba-dump

Negotiation. Everything was blurred at first, but after a little while, Felix managed to sort out the scene : it was a negotiation. A flaming one at that. He felt himself sigh, everything, just everything was not going as planned, he heard that thought echoing in him. He was a big hand getting in his line of vision - he guessed it was his, since the otherwise the angle would have been weird - and his sight suddenly went dark.

Felix hiccupped as he woke up, startled. Had he... just dreamt by himself ? Why wasn't it his brother's happy feeling about life and all ? He tried to move, by instinct, but he quickly had a reminder of why he didn't do that earlier. First : He was still dead tired, second, he was pretty sure something was constantly poking into the nasty cut he had on his body, and third... did Vino really need him ? After all... She was really beautiful ... Could it be the devil incarnated in her ?

If he could, he would have shook his head at his own stupidity. She wasn't a devil, she couldn't be. That's for sure, and he didn't know what a devil was, anyway. Why was it hurting so much already ? Was it his genius or whatever ? Except being jealous of the woman, had he done a bad thing ? He moaned in pain as the pokes became stronger and stronger, not leaving him any space to think anymore. Rushes of heat wen through him, driving him crazy on the inside : he just wanted the pain to go away, not come at full force ! He felt like a burning-hot hand was constricting slowly, cruelly around his neck, making him breathe shallowly, eyes shut in pain... Pain. The only thing he could register was pain... Awful, burning pain.

He hazily heard steps, voices, but couldn't see or hear clearly anymore. Was that a 'Oh dear' ? He didn't know anymore... He didn't want to know anymore.

For Felix, everything became black.

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Rome sighed. He really wanted to take a break, now. The negotiations weren't going as expected; the hispanics were stubborn -it could be something useful, if they were on their side, that is. Plus ! Little Hispania usually cried, when he didn't know which side to take anymore : his people's or Rome's. He really wanted to be with the raising Empire he called 'Grandpa'. If only his people surrendered, he could be forever with Rome, he had said.

But the elder nation knew better : he was meant to die young. It has been quite a time since he went to Roma only to wander in the streets since usually, it was for boring politics and conference. Nevertheless, once, he had the time to visit well... himself, and he saw it. It was beautiful to his eyes, and he instantly cherished it. The cocoon. The beautiful cocoon holding a breathing little, future nation that would inherit of him. When he was on the battlefield, and had free time, he usually wondered about it. He also usually said to himself that when he had the time, he would go visit the future nation. He seriously wondered what color it took over the time. When he first saw it, he was really young, and so was the cocoon. When a cocoon formed itself, it hadn't any color to begin with.

But Hispania couldn't know that yet, the poor little boy would break into tears if he was to learn he was meant to die. But while he was alive, he would make both him and Franciae happy as they could be.

"Roma ! 're you c'ming or wh't ? We've got to prepare f'r the war."

The Empire nodded, standing up to go to the centurion's tent... The soldier didn't even wait for him, he thought, sighing.

Ba-dump

Flashes of scenes, places in front of his eyes, making him stumble forward. He blinked, then rubbed his eyes. What just happened ? Who was this pretty girl ? And was that a bathroom ? Ooh ~, a pretty girl and a bathroom, he liked where it was going ! "Roma ! Wh't the hell 're you thinkin' 'bout ?"

"Huh ? A girl, why ?" He answered truthfully

"I can see that-" The Empire blushed, straightening the skirt of his uniform. "-who the hell is she to make you look away from the eternal god ?"

"to make me look away from the eternal god ? What eternal god ?" He stupidly repeated, like a parrot, dumbfounded. What the hell the soldier was thinking about ? "The eternal god of War, of course !"

Ah, the god of War, of course, right. He had forgot. But there was just so many god already... Who's the one who put this flesh desire in me ? 'Cause she's sure beautiful, he thought, finally following the soldier to his tent.

Honestly, this conversation and these plans were as boring as following the current leader everywhere he went. As usual, he was to try to negotiate once more, and if they didn't capitulate this time, he was to engage war.

As the leader explained what they would do if they had to engage a battle, his knees gave out under him. He felt something suffocating him, pain everywhere and... joy ? Happiness ? Stupid giddiness ? Hell, he felt like he was falling in love all over again. But the pain he was suffering from certainly wasn't the doing of love. Definitely not, he thought as the same burning pain from the day before attacked his flawless shoulder once again.

When he gained consciousness, he met the face of the centurion, which was really - too - close of his' - for his comfort. " Is she that beautiful ?" He asked. What was beautiful, now ? Oh ! The girl he saw, right, right. "Yeah ! I really wonder who she is to prevent me from looking toward the sky !" He semi-joked, semi-stated.

"What sky ?"

"Well... the god of War residence ?"

"The god of War is on the battlefield, not in the sky !"

Rome laughed awkwardly, and the meeting continued.

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Vino became scared all of a sudden, when he felt a feeling of nothing growing in him and when he had the urge to find his brother. He just felt he had to find him, now.

At least, they were going toward the kitchen, maybe he would be there, like Esmeralda said ? As he turned at a corner, his hand in the lady's, she began to talk about her country, Hispania, how the lands were beautiful. It distracted him from the opening door behind them, where a panicked dominus came out in a hurry, carrying an unmoving Felix in his arms, whose head was limping on the side as if it was a ragdoll's.

The old brave man had discovered the ten-years-old body of the docile twin against the wall, bloodied and beaten.

Fortunately, he was still conscious when he found him, but not for long; the moment he touched him to get a positive reaction, he got a negative one : the boy's body went limp. He quickly gathered him in his arms, and rushed to the nearest doctor - he wasn't far away, only two or three streets away from his mansion. In his hurry, he almost missed the twin of Felix. It worried him, to say the truth, when they first arrived, they seemed united, as if they were one and one only, and then now, it seemed as if Vino didn't care about his twin anymore. Were they in an argument ? Or maybe it was Esmeralda ? The lady never did this on purpose, but she had a gift to change someone drastically. It wasn't the first time it occurred.

He knocked rather loudly against the door, wincing when he almost dropped the young boy. A rather tall and slim man opened the door, looked at the kid and lifted an eyebrow. "How can I help you sir ?"
"He just fainted on me ! Please help !" The man made a quick move with his hand and leaded them through the hallways. He knocked at a door and opened it. "Excuse-me, master, but-

"Will I once be alone to test my frogs ?" An angry little voice bickered back. "-It's an urgent case, master." The twins' dominus slowly began to be filled with anger at the slowness of the situation. He just wanted to stomp his way in the room, and 'throw' Felix at the doctor. The said doctor boringly looked behind his slave to see the case, jumped on his feet and took the boy in his arms before lying him down on the table. "You may wait outside si-"

"Let me stay, please..."

"... Okay. But don't puke all over my frogs. I'll have to re-open his wound to clean it." The dominus nodded, taking seat near the desk where he saw some dissected frogs. Thus, Felix's operation began. And, the old man was beginning to think that he should have listened and went outside, actually : the sight was quite gruesome - both Felix's and the frogs' - and he indeed wanted to throw up his breakfast. After an hour, the operation was finished, and the doctor said he had to watch after the little slave he had bought.

Felix's eyelids twitched non-stop, indicating he was gaining consciousness... or that he was dreaming.

Ba-dump

The little boy gasped, his shoulder hurting and tickling at the same time. He wanted to cry out of pain, but also wanted to laugh at the funny feeling he felt. All of a sudden, he felt tired and also felt himself sweating. His lungs were breathing slowly as his heartbeat increased. He wanted to puke but hadn't anything to get out of his stomach. He opened his eyes wide, trying to breathe - unable to do so. He saw a blurry figure over him and panicked before blacking out.

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'She's got the original sin inside of her' Vino dreamily wondered, not really caring about what he was thinking. Esmeralda was eating, and the sight was mesmerizing in itself. For the young boy, of course. The way her beautiful eyes fell onto the food, the way she drew back gracefully a strand of curled hair behind her ear, the way she looked up at him with a gentle and caring smile on her lips. When she was finished with her breakfast, she stood up. Vino looked down and saw that he barely had touched his plate. He internally shrugged his shoulders, he could eat later, couldn't he ? "Let's go to the bathroom, yes ?" The boy eagerly nodded : he would be seeing his brother and would feel refreshed. He also had this sticky feeling around his shoulder, and he felt his eyes close by themselves even when he had enough sleep. He wondered why.

Was it Felix's fault ? Did he do something sticky on his shoulder ? Why was he tired like this ? When he approached the bathroom, he smiled, he still could ask his brother, couldn't he ?

He didn't bother to look behind him as a man passed by, looking angrily at him, nor did he see Esmeralda frown at the said man since she quickly turned toward Vino, all smiles. "Do you want to take a bath with me ?"
"W-What ?!" Vino squeaked, opening his eyes wide. D-Did she just ask... ? She repeated and, indeed, she had just asked if he wanted to take a bath with her. Vino numbly nodded, not noticing what he had just done. 'Do desiring her makes me a criminal ?' He wondered.

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"... Gods ! He was blessed by the gods !" The dominus exclaimed.
"What's the fuss about ?" The doctor snapped, coming back with bandages.

"This child was blessed by the gods !"

"What are you talking about, you crazy old man ?" The doctor growled, pushing the dominus away to take a look at his patient. He grabbed the boy to bandage up the wound... except that there was no wound anymore. "What the- ?" He released the boy's arms, stumbling away.

"What is he ? A demi-god ?" Indeed, where the cut once was, now there was a flawless skin, not even a little scare or anything. "He must be..." He slowly raised his hand to touch the shoulder he had treated and instantly retracted his arms the moment his finger came in contact with the skin. It was all sticky... bleh. He ordered his slave to wash the demi-god, bandaging the shoulder right after, just in case. He told the dominus that the boy needed as much sleep as his body wanted... And... then proceeded to ask him lots of questions about the slave. He was unfortunately left with no answers : the old man didn't know a thing about Felix yet, only his name.

"Could I come regularly to your mansion to... check up on him ? Around one time a week, starting tomorrow ?" The doctor asked, a smile on his lips. The dominus agreed, but not without any reluctance : he had a bad feeling about that. "And don't forget : if he rests he'll be on his feet in no time, ready to talk and work !"

The old man walked much more calmly, the young kid sound asleep in his arms, and wondered : who had stabbed him ? And why ? He only was a kid, and he didn't seem to be bad; he was obedient, and polite.

He laid Felix down onto his bed in the twins' room, and decided to go in the bathroom to check if Felix's blood was still there.

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Vino blushed non-stop when they were in the changing rooms, not daring turn around, toward the lady, too embarrassed to do anything. As he was tomato-red, the lady gently poked his 'sticky' shoulder. "Wow ! Your shoulder is sticky ! But why aren't you taking your clothes off ?"

"I-I-I... uh... I-.... I'm not ready, ma'am !" ... D-Dammit... Vino thought. Why did his voice had to be so squeaky ? It was ashaming, and even more embarrassing !

She laughed.

It was the most beautiful thing he ever heard. Her laugh was music, as if it was tingling cristal, echoing within his head. "Of course you're ready ! There." She took his clothes off, making him squeak. And she laughed again, taking him by his hand. "Come on, no need to be so shy !"

"A-Am not... !" The door rattled before one of them could open it, which make both of them jump in surprise : it was another lady, way older than Esmeralda, but way younger than the dominus, she had a bucket with water in it, which made Vino freeze on the spot. The water was red - only that would have been enough to scare him - but it also gave out a weird feeling as if... as if he had missed something really important. "Why is the water red ?" Esmeralda asked, eyebrows shooting up. The other slave nodded, to greet her fellow workers.

"Someone was hurt or someone was on her period, I just cleaned off the blood. I hope whoever bled is better now, or that she found something to cover her genitals."

"Can we go in, or is it still dirty ?"

"No, I'm finished, you can go bath if you want to... Well... You obviously want to." The slave smiled as she looked both of the slaves up and down, chuckling when she saw Vino blush and hide behind Esmeralda. "To tell you were the one who was took for an entertainer girl -" Esmeralda looked at her curiously, a sharp glint in her eyes. "And now, look at you... ! You're a real beauty... !" The hispanic girl blushed a little, while Vino was vividly agreeing with the old lady - fortunately, he was behind his crush so she couldn't see him.

.

Vino still hadn't come over his shyness... What if she judged his body ?
Most of the time, he turned his back to her - even if he didn't want to be rude. And he didn't want her o see anything but.... he could feel her looking at him. He had to draw her attention away : "W-What does 'entertainer girl' mean, E-Esmeralda ?"

"It means a girl of nothing."

"Nothing ?"

"That's when everyone look down to you, not caring if you're dying of hunger or not."

"O-Oh..." He turned his gaze around, looking at a wall with little conviction. At least, nobody tried to force her to do these kind of things. "Entertainer girl also mean 'prostitute'" Vino froze again. Well, her life wasn't real pretty, too... She suddenly seemed to bear the human kind's cross.

All of a sudden, he had a weird feeling again, the same one the bucket full of blood gave off. Except that this time, it was the wall in front of him. In a flash, he saw a little figure, and felt like dying, then... it was gone. He turned toward Esmeralda, realization hitting him. "We didn't saw Felix ! Where is he ?" Why did he had the nasty feeling that the figure he saw on the wall was his brother ? But... it couldn't be him, right ? He was perfectly alright yesterday evening, wasn't he ? Yes, yes he was alright. He said... He said... What did he say, already ? ... That he would help to clean a little bit more ? Y-Yeah. That had to be what he said... right ? "I don't know where he is, dear. Do you want to go search for him ? I have to go buy some things on the market, anyway." Vino closed his eyes, trying to feel what Felix was feeling... He felt nothing - maybe the thing that was making his heart beat fast was happiness ? "Can I go to the market with you ? I think Felix's okay... He might be sleeping or something..."

"Oh, you're so kind Vino-dear !" She hugged him, and he squeaked from embarrassment again.

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Felix woke up with a startle - it was beginning to be an habit, apparently - feeling as if he had been torn apart by something. He had felt happiness during his sleep but something hurt deep within, as if... well... as if it had been torn, limb after limb.

Danger... The tie is about to break... danger...

He slided out of bed, needing to go to toilet. He flinched when he moved : not because of the pain this time, it was because of the lack of it, in fact.
After he was done, he decided he would go back to their room, quietly hoping the night would come soon, because Vino would be near him. He still felt dizzy, and his eyes were all fogged up. Sleepiness was taking over him again... well... not for long, as he passed near the bathroom, a strong figure stopped his walk, as he stumbled into something warm but which was as hard as rock. "Hey brat." Felix froze, now scared for his life. But, in a sense, he was also glad : he was still mistaken for his brother. "Oh, I'm... I'm sorry... I-I didn't saw you..."

"Well I did, fucking brat."

"Will... Will you excuse me... ? I-I'd like to go b-back to b-bed ?" Felix squeaked too afraid to even gulp down his saliva. The man snorted, bringing a big hand to the back of the boy's collar. "And you expect me to believe that filthy lie, you little piece of crap ? You're coming with me since you're not doing anything." He began to drag him - more like carry him with one arm - as Felix desperately struggled to break free, even if it was a loosing battle.

He put him behind a big bucket full of water, after few minutes of walking, and threw clothes at him. "Here's your chore : do the laundry. All of it. The clothes and blankets have to be whiter than white, scum. I won't let you go to sleep or do whatever you want - even piss - till you're finished with this." And thus, he left without leaving Felix any chance to try to escape : he had locked the door, and there was no window.

Felix sighed, and yawned right after : how was he supposed to do the chores correctly if he couldn't keep his eyes open for a second ? 'Please, Our Lady, goddess of love, please, just let me once pray for him to stop loving Esmeralda...' He didn't want to be punched, or stabbed because of her by that man hands.

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Vino blinked, he had a weird feeling about something he couldn't quite describe. It had begun when the dominus had entered the bathroom and that Esmeralda had literally plunged into the water, screaming something about privacy. The master of the house had blushed beet-red, before excusing himself and rushing out. Then, when they went out, he had that feeling around his neck, as if someone was taking him by his collar. But after that, when they went to the market, he had no problem till now, of course.

And the market was so great : just by thinking of his present time with Esmeralda, the weird feeling flew away. "Are you okay, Vino ? Why did you stop ? Is it too heavy ?" Once again went dead, and he felt giddy : she was concerned about him, she really was ! It was the first time it happened to him ever ! He was sure of that. "U-Uh... I'm... I-I okay is ! I mean I'm okay ! D-Don't worry." He stammered as she chuckled from his error.

The rest of the day passed quite quickly, he only got worried twice both times were when he was around the table. Esmeralda said he was working the first time, and the second time, the dominus said he was already sleeping. He seemed to want to say something else, but he had received an important letter from a good friend, apparently. But if he was sleeping, it was okay : he could go snuggle up to him after eating. "Hey ! Won't you help me doing the dishes, kid ?" A slave called out. Vino stopped in his tracks, blushing at that : that was right, he was supposed to help with the dishes - which was a pretty long task, since it was everyone's dishes in the mansion. Well, he still could go to Felix later, couldn't he ?

He stretched while doing the hard work, almost two hours had passed, and he was getting real tired : usually, drying was his chore, but he had to put back the plates this time, too - it was Felix's job - and damn, it hurts his arms. He would take turn with him, for him not to be so tired - why else would he go to sleep so soon ?

When he went to their room, there was no Felix, but the blankets were crippled in a way that was saying that his brother went somewhere. Maybe he was going to toilet ? He could already sleep, then. He rolled himself up in the blanket, sighing contently. His brother would come soon, he was sure of it.

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Felix was being delirious : his body screamed for sleep, and his stomach yelled for something to eat, now. Fortunately, he didn't need to satisfy anything else.

Everything was mixing up in his head. The dreams he had, the pig's mansion, his brother being far away, the work, the whippings, his brother forgetting about him, the stab, the slave-sellers, his brother not caring about him anymore, the laundry, his brother being brain-dead, half of the sheets still being dirty, his brother not loving him anymore, him having to stay awake, his brother not feeling him anymore, his brother smiling when he was crying, his brother slowly, ever so slowly drifting away from him...

He began to chuckle, not a happy chuckle, nor a broken one. Just... a chuckle... to try to clear his mind... just an empty chuckle to cheer himself up, even if he knew it wouldn't work.

Would he end up like his 'family' ? With a sword in his heart ? Wasn't there one already ? He could eat anything, right know, he was just too hungry. Even this stupid laundry... maybe he should try ? He put a wet part of the cloth he was washing in his mouth and... spit it. Bleh ! It was disgusting alright. He couldn't eat that. Definitely not edible.

The door opened loudly, almost making his heart jump out of his chest. For a second, he believed he was having a heart-attack : he didn't have to worry, it was just the man who sequestrated him. "You didn't finish yet brat ?" Felix shook from fear, not really thinking about what to reply : he had a great hope the man would take pity of him and allow him to go to his brother. "Told you. You're not going out of this room till you're finished. Go faster, if you don't want to be sold back on the market !" Ouch, so much for pity. Now, the little slave was even more scared, but as he stood up to try to make a run to the door, the man grabbed him by the arm and pushed him toward the dirty blankets, growling. Well, now his arm hurt, too.

The brute went away and locked the door once again.

It wasn't that bad, was it ? Just a little -hurtful- grab on his weakened arms. So why did he run - more like stumbled - to the door and pleaded him to let him go ? The man yelled back, anger and jaleousy ringing in his tone : "Go to hell, kid ! I hope you'll die from the work I gave you ! I'll be the only one pushing open Esmeralda's garden door ! I'll be the only one laying her down !"

Sound of stomping was heard : the man was going away and Felix was left with -untasty- laundry, heartache, stomachache, and a newfound headache. What did 'push open someone's garden door' and 'laying down' meant ?

Little did he know that this dangerous man was a potential rapist...

[Lokitama]

The seventh chapter is up !

Still searching for a beta ~ :angryromano:

Anyway, I also did some advertising for the forum !

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LOVE IS A HOLE IN THE HEART

-Murphy's law

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The door loudly slammed against the wall, sending a wave of sound through the neat, clean, room. A young boy, down on his knees curled on himself didn't even move at the loud sound, his face was dangerously close to a seemingly brown and stinky water, but it didn't seem to bother him. If you looked closely you could notice he was actually asleep. It had been a rough night for Felix, he didn't know how he managed to wash all of the clothes and blankets, but what he did know was that he couldn't move his legs after this anymore. "Brat." He didn't move at all, except for his body slightly fall forward, nose lazily poking into the water. "Hey, stupid. Wake up."

Again, no reaction. The man gave a hard kick into Felix's stomach, who was sent flying into the freshly dry laundry. He woke up, startled, heart beating way too fast for his comfort. He was grabbed once again, this time by the shoulder, and was thrown away again. What did the brute think he was ? A rag doll ? Anyway, he didn't quite manage to land on his feet, stumbled and fell on the ground, still frozen, but at least, he was awake. He grabbed him by the collar after thinking a bit. If someone was to see the kid there, in this condition, he would get some problems. It would be better if he dropped him to his room. Thus, he dragged the sleepy boy in front of his bedroom's door. The brute noticed he was limp, and ready to fall asleep again. He knelled in front of him and gripped harshly his shoulder, digging his nails in it. "You won't go near Esmeralda ever again. She's too beautiful for you. If you do, I'll make you wish you were dead."

"..."

"Reply."

"..."

"Reply, little asshole !" He slapped him hard on the cheek. "I-I... it... hurts..." Felix said with a feeble voice, his shoulder burned again, and the slap was making him more dizzy and unfocused than before. He was suddenly shook, and hit once again. "I don't fucking care, brat. Stay away from her."

"m... hmm...I... will..." He pushed Felix away as he made his way to his work in the mansion. Unfortunately, the boy didn't expect to be pushed and bumped his head against the wall. He waited for the brute to be out of sight, eyelid closing every single time, and hardly crawled into the room and then, into the bed. He blurrily caught sight of his twin brother and went cuddling him, already sent in dream land.

He didn't know why, but after a while, Vino felt good, better, then. Subconsciously, he turned around to snuggle to the added warmth. Unfortunately, before long, a knock whipped his sleep away as he was well rested, but he stayed in the same position : it was too comfortable to let go. The dominus entered the room, peacefully smiling when he saw the twins. He didn't know what one of his slaves had made Felix do during the whole night, so he chuckled. He chuckled because the sight was adorable : Vino had his arm over the shoulder of his brother, cheek buried into the said brother's hair, while Felix was hugging his brother as if there was no tomorrow. Their curls formed a heart-shape. The master then saw their intertwined legs, strongly tangled, once again, it was Vino who was a little bit spreading himself over Felix. But at least, both of them seemed perfectly content where they were, it broke his heart to know he would have to shake the rebellious twin awake for work. But it has to be done.

So he approached and gently grabbed Vino's shoulder, whispering in his ear : "Wake up, young man, I need your help." Vino's eyes shot open, and he swiftly moved away, behind Felix - who whimpered at the lost warmth.

What did that man just say ? 'Help' ? The pig asked for 'help', too. "N-No !" He didn't want to ! He looked into the dominus' eyes, expecting to see lust and cruelty but only met gentle and surprised orbs. It helped calming himself down a little bit, but it didn't mean he relaxed or let his guard down. Hell no ! He had quickly learned not to judge a book by its cover : this man also could have two faces. "Is something wrong ?" Well, yes, obviously. If everything was alright, he wouldn't be shaking so much, behind a big, fluffy white pillow that protected both he and his brother. Speaking of which, he spared a glance at his twin : why wasn't he moving, or waking up already ? Couldn't he feel his fear or the danger throughout their connection ? His brown eyes shot up to the dominus as the later moved forward. "Vino?"

"D-Don't touch me!" His voice came out strong and steady, as he retreated a little bit further behind Felix - the little 'rebel' had grabbed his hand, hoping for him to open his eyes. The master of the house suddenly froze, arm in mid-air and paled. "V-Vino ?" The boy continued to shake as the dominus frowned, worried. He couldn't ask him straight away, it would bring even more possible bad memories, and he would get no chance for Vino to open up to him : he would be even more scared. "Did..." He thought about how to ask that "Did you and your brother... had another dominus... before me ?" A pregnant silence was his only reply. It lasted minutes. Minutes where the sleeping twin squirmed, obviously uncomfortable, as if he was bothered by something that nobody could see. High pitched groans were making their way out of his throat as he began to pant and cry. As he turned violently around, his arm met Vino's laps, and he calmed down instantly while falling right back into the depth of sleep. Vino, on his part, shivered all the way down his spine at the touch but he also relaxed, thanks to his unconscious brother.

The old man's anxious eyes were still on him, and he allowed himself to reply by a slow and fearful nod. He didn't expect the dominus to gulp down, frowning. "Did... um... Did he touched you in any way ?" Once again, the boy replied by a fearful nod. Another pregnant silence comfortably installed itself in the room as Vino tried to look everywhere but the other person, eyes mostly on his brother. He heard a sigh. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you, then... : would you help everyone ? We're preparing some rooms of the mansion for one of my good friends, he'll come live with us within a week."

Maybe he had been scared too quickly, Vino thought. So, for the last time, he nodded, and took the hand the old man was stretching for him to come after staring at it. He had been given the choice of trusting him or rejecting him and he had made his decision.

He was still suspicious, though. He had asked for help, after all... Ah, but it wasn't that kind of help. He also didn't seem that bad and... Felix seemed to trust him, too. What could he do ?

The moment he entered another room after changing clothes and eating, he saw black hair twirl around a pretty - ever so pretty - face, with pretty eyes. Ah... such eyes. Even if her big black eyes hypnotize you, Vino thought, she stays the most kind woman here. Esmeralda let her eyes fall on the young boy and broke into a marvelous grin. Vino's stomach knotted in happiness; he suddenly felt tipsy, he was on a little pink, happy cloud of love blossoming into the sky. And his cloud floated even higher when the woman lean forward to kiss his forehead. "Aren't you happy, this morning ?" The dominus laughed while the woman giggled as an answer. "But it's hard not to be happy when you see a face as cute as his' ?" She swooned over a Vino who was getting beet-red, while the dominus agreed wholeheartedly, still laughing. "S-Stop laughing ! ... 't's not funny..." He pouted. And pouted even more when the laughter became louder. Why were they laughing ? Nothing was funny, wasn't it ?

_________________________

Few days had passed and Felix felt fine again. The dominus was quite reluctant about letting him out of bed, for some reason that escaped him. Vino, for his part, had quickly dismissed the fact his brother was ill - but, granted, he was misled by words, the docile twin had begged not to tell Vino.

Unfortunately, as Felix opened his eyes the day he could finally get out of bed, the first thing he saw was the face of a stranger - a doctor, judging by his clothing -, asking him too many things at once. He hadn't understood everything, his mind still hazy from the sleep. And who was the man, anyway ? He acted as he knew him when it wasn't the case. Or he just didn't remember when he met him. He caught a question between many others and between many scientific explanations he didn't understand. "Could you take off your shirt, please ?" Felix stiffened and blinked. What ? Taking off his shirt ? Why... ? He gulped down when the doctor began to grab his cloth, and bring it up. 'Take of your shirt' was also what the guy whipping them back in the previous mansion said. He... He didn't want to be hurt again. But he couldn't go against orders, right ? Right ? He felt air hit his pale and fragile skin. Hard bits of the whip could still be seen on his back, even if they looked like scratches. He interrupted the man, quickly placing his hand onto the doctor's, saying a quiet "No."

The doctor stopped both babbling and undressing him. Felix felt his breath caught in his throat, his stomach churning in both hunger and fear. What would happen to him, now ? Would the man get angry and hit him ? Or would he talk coldly to him and be rude ? Would he get whipped for going against an order ? "Hey, boy. Don't forget to breathe." The man put his hand on the shoulder of the slave, who suddenly gasped, planting his eyes into the doctor's before retreating. He didn't want to be hurt.

The man grabbed his ankle as he tried to run away : he wanted to at least see someone he knew. His brother, the dominus ? He was about to cry out, turning around to try to run, back toward the doctor, he felt a hand being slapped against his mouth, shutting him up efficiently.

Even if the man was quite short on his legs, he still was slightly taller, bigger and stronger than him. As he struggled to break free, his shirt was torn away and he felt the cold hand - as the other one still was on his mouth - of the curer on his bare skin, which made him shiver in disgust. He didn't want anyone to touch him. "S-Stop struggling, dammit ! I'm only here to check if you're okay !" But he didn't listen, memories straight back from his brother's head popping in his. Memories of being touched by filthy, big hands, trying to do something scary to him. His heartbeat increased so much it hurt his little bony chest as his eyes began to sting since tears were gathering together before sliding down his cheeks, and over the doctor's hands. "Calm down, kid !" He didn't hear the same thing, mind lost in incoming memories, but body stuck in the present. Unfortunately, the hands on him in the present corresponded way too much with the past memories of Vino, and like Vino did - according to the memories -, he bit the man, who yelped in pain and let him go to nurse his harshly bitten fingers.

Felix took his chance to run, and rushed to the door, trying to open it... It didn't even bulge. His eyes widened in fear, and he desperately pulled on the doorknob, crying out some 'help me' along the way. The tears made his sight unclear and blurred. He didn't want to do these kind of things ! He didn't want to ! He heard the man calling out for him, and turned around to see a pair of arms stretching out to catch him. By instinct, he ducked under the doctor's legs and ran to the window he just remembered of. As he opened it and tried to jump - even if he was on the first floor - the unknown man grabbed him by the waist. He yelled again, and someone - finally ! - noticed his panic, down there, in the garden. But he quickly cursed his luck and cried over his 'genius' who was tormenting him as he saw the scary man dirtying some more blankets in the mud and shooting him a dirty smirk. Again, a hand strongly covered his mouth. "Will you calm down ?" He was dragged to the bed and as he struggled, the man immobilized him before slapping him.

The boy stopped screaming, and looked down. What could he do ? He was small and weak. But he didn't want to ! More tears rolled down his face as the man held him down. He closed his eyes not wanting to see anything but re-opened them suddenly when he felt something wet cover his mouth and nose. What was that piece of clothing against his face ?

Before long, his world became darkness as he inhaled the drug.

___________________________________

Few days had passed since Vino was helping the beautiful lady that caught his little and clumsy heart. And, as he was making the wardrobe in the room, he suddenly felt a pitch of fear coursing through his heart. Did something happen to Felix ? He was tempted to go and see what was wrong, but Esmeralda kindly asked him if he could carry the dirty blankets in the laundry. He couldn't say no. On his way to the laundry, he met a scary guy. He made him tense like never before. The man was tall and ridiculously muscular : the funny thing was the fact that his head was tiny - well, if you compared it with his body. "What are you doing here, brat ?" B-Brat ?! Why was he calling a brat already ? They had only just met. His saliva seemed thick as he gulped down.

"W-Well, I was asked to take this-" Vino moved his arms a little bit, making the blankets bounce "- to the laundry... t-then I wanted to go see if my brother was better..."

"Your brother ?"

"Well... Well.. um... M-My brother was ill these last three days..." Vino explained, before seeing something really unexpected : the man face softened a little bit - which made him even more scarier, by the way - and he proposed to him that they walk together to the room where Felix had been locked up. After few minutes, Vino placed the dirty blankets on the ground as the man did the same. "Wow ! There's no dirty cloth at all... well... There was." Vino exclaimed in surprise and awe : Esmeralda had told him the room was always full of clothes and blankets everywhere, and that washing it all would be a real, real hard task to achieve. "Let's say a little hand became real helpful lately." The man smiled grimly. But Vino didn't notice, since he was looking at the water in the basket, making an 'eew' sound before looking back at the man, who seemed lost in thoughts. As he approached him, he heard him mumble something. "Might my damsel be still a virgin ?... Yes... Yes she is. Definitely." Was he in love with someone... if someone happened to love him ? He didn't mean to be rude, but if a girl did love him, she sure had weird tastes. Maybe he was a kindhearted romantic man ?

For some reason, he was still scared of him. Maybe his brother had seen the man once in the hallway and got scared ? Then he would tell Felix not to be : only his appearance was a little bit frightening. "Do... do you love someone ?" Vino asked innocently, the only answer he got was a glance, harsh at first then a little bit softer - without it being really soft either. "Yes, brat. And nobody can touch her or talk to her without my permission." Vino's mouth made an 'o' and he bid his farewell to the man before gently trotting toward his twin's room.

Little clicks went unnoticed in the hallway and the small figure of the doctor got out of the once locked room. He looked quite gruesome if you looked closely : his hair and his clothes were disheveled, as if he had gotten into a fight, on his potty hand laid an angry-red bite-mark, on his pure-white robe now blossomed some bloody spots and he had a smile quite disturbing. He walked toward the entrance of the mansion at a quick pace. Not a second after he got out of the hallway, Vino appeared from the opposite way and knocked at their bedroom's door. "It's me ! Can I enter, brother ?"

He didn't receive any reply, and suddenly felt cold horror wash through him, the worst scenarios swirling in his head. What if he hadn't been enough with him and got scared ? What if he had been kidnapped ? What if someone sold him back on the slave's market because he was too ill and useless ? As he stood in front of the door, froze, fist ready to knock a second time, he gulped down. Why was his brother ill when he wasn't ? Why didn't he feel anything coming from their connection ? Was Felix... dead ?

He opened the door so quickly it loudly slammed against the wall. "Felix ?!" He both screamed through their connection and out loud. Felix gasped, jumping awake, eyes wide and unfocused, head turned toward the door. Soon enough he was pulled into an embrace that almost suffocated him. He tensed a moment before recognizing his brother. Excuses were raining down the mouth of the rebellious twin. Felix squeezed gently the body of his brother, asking what was wrong. As Vino began to explain, Felix couldn't be happier. His brother was hugging him, for real, it felt like so long ago since he last hugged him - while being awake. He could feel his brother's worry and sadness clashing with his own relief and happiness. Everything in him was paradoxical, everything in him had his opposite hugging each other and it felt just... so good.

As he had the biggest smile of his life on his face, he felt big, fat tears roll down his cheeks.

Vino looked up and let his eyes widened when he saw his twin. It was unbelievable, why was he smiling now ? He wanted to ask but when his mouth opened, the door did the same. It was her. Vino couldn't think straight anymore, worries flew out of his head as he saw her tanned skin, her wide waist and her little shoulders. when she blinked at the sight, he felt butterflies in his stomach, her eyelashes were so long and beautiful. She gasped. "Oh gods, Vino, are you okay ?" Felix's smile fell, and he got scared and jealous instead. The jealousy was pretty easy to understand : she was stealing his brother, and if he got scared, it was because he would be beaten by the scary guy again. His brother numbly nodded, and he could once again feel the empty void teasing, nagging him with the lack of presence of his brother. He was tempted to sigh but held his breath, persuaded that the man would come out of the door to drag him to the laundry, to beat most of his life out of him, then making him wash his own dirty and fresh blood off the clothes and blankets. His heart began to beat faster, and it hurt. When a knock was heard, and that a man came out of the door, Felix promptly and simply fainted.

Vino wondered what was wrong with his brother when he should have wondered why he didn't faint or feel anything from him. Esmeralda curiously called out for the docile twin, but she didn't do anything else, too bothered by the equally curious Vino. An awkward, ever so tiny and embarrassed cough was heard. "Did I do something ?" It was a manly young voice, not assured, who talked. The rebellious twin looked over Esmeralda's shoulder as he was locked in her warm embrace. On his face laid pure glee, you had to agree and understand his point of view : the one who plagued his mind was holding him tight. "Am I that scary ?" The man by the door asked, an awkward smile on his lips. Vino had to admit, and it wasn't that hard yet, that the man was handsome. The proof was that Esmeralda's arms twitched and her face began to burn. See, just what the boy thought : girls would fall for him easily.

Vino's mouth also twitched, but it was downwards, not upwards like Esmeralda's. He didn't want, for an unknown reason, the lady to like that blondie by the door. The thought was put away when the woman stood up, startling him. But it only was put away: it didn't disappear because right now he was too busy blushing, his face close - too close - to her chest. Fortunately, he still was on the bed, because with his height, when she stoop up, his face was just in front of her breasts. "We have to finish his room !" She suddenly exclaimed.

Thus, Vino was dragged away, shamelessly leaving his passed out brother alone in isolated room - nobody worked around it - with a stranger.

_________________________________

Felix woke up ten minutes later, moaning a little bit : he had hit his head against the wood when he blacked out. Speaking of which, why did he blacked out, already ? He slowly rubbed his hand against the bump on his head. He only remembered Vino hugging him then... then... What happen-

"Hi kid !"

The boy shrieked, jumping out of the bed and landing on his head, legs entangled in the blanket. He heard a laugh and excuse behind him, before feeling two hands on his bare chest - since when did his chest was bare ? - and was pulled up on the bed again. The kid turned instantly toward the person to see who it was. It was a man he didn't know. He would gladly have ran away if the stranger's traits weren't so fascinating. He had soft features and strong eyes full of will. "Did I scare you ?! Sorry ! What's your name, kid ?" He talked too fast for Felix's liking and he barely had the time to open his mouth to reply something that the man was on another item, talking about what seemed to be food - not a minute before, he was talking about political aspect of their era's life. Felix blinked... what ?

"But after eating, you know, I went to school and thought that maybe I should visit my father's best friend, he's the dominus here since he's living closer to town, I could get used to the crowds and all, you see, I want to build a restaurant where I could sell-" And there he was babbling about food again. After one or two minutes, he stopped. And that caught Felix's attention : the young man seemed to be lost in his thoughts, and he opened his mouth, speaking again, but in a more detached way."And... you see... when I came here... Ah... she was so beautiful... her beautiful black hair,... that moment when her moves make me have so much fantasies... She's stunning kid... I wonder what's under her rainbow-colored skirt..." Felix snorted against his will : he was talking too much, and he was beginning to be scary. He talked even more than 'Boss'... The blonde looked at him on the very wrong moment. Felix's body had choose this precise instant to look down, heart filled with undying sadness. His whole family was dead. They all died in front of him, under his eyes. It had hurt more than anything, even the whipping was nothing against the pain he felt at that moment. The blood running down the blade, the eyes of the members wide open while their bodies were cut apart. The one who hid them in the little door, dead, face turned toward them. Toward him. Traits contorted in horror and pain, frozen for eternity.

... Was it... Was it their- no. Was it his fault ? Maybe it was simply wrote like that in their life. They couldn't be happy ? But Vino seemed pretty happy with that Esmeralda girl. So it definitely was his only fault. He didn't know what or why he did something to deserve that, but he did.

But he didn't want to be alone... He wanted to be with his brother. Was it too much, already ? Felix hiccuped, feeling the oh-so-familiar burn of tears in his eyes. The back of his throat began to hurt as he tried to hush his sadness down. It was useless. He felt two arms link themselves up around him and a warm embrace made its way through his heart. "Hey kid..." The voice was soft, comforting. "Why are you crying ?"

He wasn't crying !... Not yet at least. He felt wetness on his cheek. Ah, now he was.

Before he could tell what was happening, he was spilling his heart out, drenching the unknown man with his tears. He told everything about their life till now. The awakening in the house, the slave's market, the pig, the whipping, the ship, Boss, their family, the mansion now. He told everything. Except being beaten by the brute. He was still too scared about that.

The young man was silent the entire story. And it was on this start that they began to know each other.

____________________________________

A year had passed.

Usually, Felix could be seen right behind the blond student, following him and imitating him like a little duck would follow his mother. He still was frequently beaten by the brute, who became his abuser but he took in anyway, caring too much for his friend and his brother. And if he ever told the brute about his misunderstanding, he was scared the man would kill Vino, and laugh at his face when he would be crying over his brother. And that fear he had was a concrete one : Vino was all lovey-dovey over Esmeralda, and the man punched Felix only for being around her.

His beatings increased as, recently, the Hispanic slave noticed he was quite close with the handsome young man she had a crush on. It was certainly thanks to his brother, who told everything he could to catch the raven's attention. Thus, the dancer usually came to him and bombarded him with embarrassing questions about the blond. Needless to say his abuser wasn't too happy about that.

If Felix grew fond of his friend and Vino grew dumb around Esmeralda, the rebellious twin also grew distant of him, only coming to him to spill out his problems, worries and laments. He seemed to be the secret-keeper of everyone : the blond, the woman, his brother, the dominus and even the brute, sometimes, who talked about his life while punching or kicking him. It was pretty often a burden weighting on his shoulders. He quickly found a way to hide his own laments when watching his friend : he began to copy him. At first, it only was a little smile when he was sad, then, he became a little bit hungrier since the work he did wasn't meant for children.

People found that cute : he was following the student's every step. Nobody worried except for the blond himself. He would usually scold him, just like he was doing now. "But Felix ! You shouldn't force yourself to be like me ? You're you ! And don't give me the 'I don't know myself' crap, you still have your whole life to find out who you are ! Look at how old you are ! What are you ? Ten ? Twelve ?" Three. They were three years old, him and his brother."You should take your time ! You're so young ! You still've got a long life to live !"

He didn't know how right he was, when he was talking about the longevity of Felix. A nation's life usually was long, and a nation was usually longing for a normal, mortal life. Neither Vino or Felix knew about it yet, though. "But I don't want Vino to wor-"

"You always say that, Felix !" He yelled, standing up suddenly, regretting his move and speak right away. The hurt face he met on his little friend's face managed to break his heart in half. He took the boy in his arms, and winced when the later stiffened. Even after one year and many hugs - the blond liked hugging - Felix still wasn't used to contact. "How is it going with her ?" The kid finally asked.

"My beloved ?" Felix nodded and the blond sighed : he was trying to change the topic of the conversation again. But if he did, it meant he was unconfortable with it so he wouldn't bother him more with it. Instead, he smiled widely and began to talk about the lady plaguing his mind and dreams. After few sentences, he sighed. "Ah... Please, let me be unworthy of you... Be-"

"Why ?" Felix interrupted with a soft voice - so soft the student almost didn't get it. Over the year, the throat of the docile twin grew silent : he almost only used it to chat up with the blond. " I-I want to engage myself in the army, but this makes me unworthy of her : I'll only be a soldier, not someone important." His little friend stiffened again.

Why did the blond want to become a murderer ?

_________________________________________

The same exact afternoon, Esmeralda knocked to the laundry room's door - he had to beg the dominus to do both the dishes and the laundry, under the threat of the brute. The brute had said he would kill his brother if he didn't ask.

"Felix ? Did he do something special, today ?" It was obvious she was talking about his friend. He nodded, and she began to rant, ask questions, swoon over her own imagination. She suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders as he was taking out a wet clothe to wash off the dirty spots and shook him - he didn't like that, the brute could come anytime now. She asked, well, more like squealed : "Do you imagine that ? He would say ' Oh my love, before I lead you to altar, let me make you the happiest woman in the world ! And the, he would lay me down, and slowly make his hand go up my-" As she began to talk about disgusting things that made Felix stick his tongue out, he continued to work over his clothes. She suddenly stopped, shaking him again. "I wonder if he finds me beautiful..." The boy deeply sighed. Of course the blond found her beautiful, he almost began to be as dumb as Vino in front of her but after all, who would be the man turning his eyes away from her ? Even he was left somewhat speechless, sometimes. Not that he talked much.

She ranted about his friend for an hours before getting out with an 'Oh dear ! I'm late'.

Not even two minutes after her departure - finally ! - the brute entered, face contorted in angriness, as usual. Felix stiffened. "I saw Esmeralda in the corridor, brat. What happened ?"

"N-Nothing.. She... She didn't come here ! I didn't saw her."

"Liar. You fucking brat... There's only one room in this hallway."

"B-But... But- No ! Don't hit me please !" He covered his face as the man raised his fist. " There's other rooms, no?"

"They're unused for the moment." The boy tried to avoid the beating, but his weak arms were making a pitiful loosing battle against two strong punches from a very muscled man.

Little Felix gulped down his pleads and his longing to be with his brother. "You know what'll happen to you if you continue to be such a brat and continue disobeying, asshole?" The slave fearfully shook his head having a bad feeling about what was coming his way. "You'll die in the worst possible way. Ever. So it's up to you, brat. You're a good boy and you obey, or you'll be changed into a salt statue." Why in the world would that be the worst death ? Felix wondered a bit before feeling a sharp kick crushing his sides. But unlike a year ago, he didn't scream anymore. He was used to it.

But what happened next was definitely new : he looked up at the man, will burning deep inside of his eyes, and it didn't please the brute at all. The abuser grabbed him by the neck, making sure his nails were digging painfully in his skin, and began to squeeze it tightly, the boy's body up in the air, against a wall. Felix didn't really manage to observe everything around him, but inside of him, it was clear. At first, it was panic, the squeeze prevent air to get to his lungs, and it burned ! He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe ! Instinctively, he clawed the hand of the man for his dear life but it only worsened the aggressive state of the brute. His mouth opened and closed desperately, trying to get some air in. He wanted to scream now, ironically. He didn't want to when he had the chance, but now he longed for a scream. He wanted to scream to let him go, to leave him alone. 'H... Help ! Somebody... Blondie... Vino !'

Felix's eyes widened when his heart went too fast in his chest, desperately trying to pump more oxygen. It felt like it was about to explode. Fat tears rolled freely down his cheeks, but he didn't care : everything started to hurt. He was about to die ! He began to shake not having the force to claw anymore - he gripped the strong wrists of his abuser, hoping he would take pity of him and let go, even if he knew how much it would be impossible.

Ba-...

He felt his hands going sweaty and his arms getting weak. No... in fact it was his whole body getting sweaty and weak. He wanted to fight so badly the cold feeling creeping up his veins but couldn't. He couldn't do anything against it. His arms fell down by his sides, blood running down his nose. Small veins in his nostril had exploded due to the blood pressure. His heart slowed down painfully, coming to an halt, and his wide eyes became void of any light. The sight was ugly : Felix's head was red but paled down quickly to a sickening white, his eyes were dull, dead as tears slowly dried on his cheeks, blood trailed from his nose to his chin. Drool was also making his way down. But what would've strained one's heart the most was the expression of fear, panic and loneliness printed on the frozen face.

The moment drool made contact with the brute's skin, he let go of the body, disgusted. That filth got what he deserved, but even dead he still could disobey. What an ungrateful bastard. It was his fault for approaching Esmeralda, after all. He watched the young boy's corpse fall on the ground.

...-dump

As the brown haired boy's head collided with the floor, the abuser left.

_______________________________________

It has been few days since he didn't leave the two young nation's side. And today, they were playing tag in Franciae's land. Rome had to admit it was pretty fun. The tension and stress that build up during negotiations and battles quickly melted under these two little faces full of wonder and joy. Nothing could be better than happy nations discovering the world.

After one hour of playing, Hispania couldn't run nor talk coherently anymore. Moreover, Franciae's stomach rumbled loudly, and more than it ever did before. Thus, Rome decided it was lunch time. As they looked around for some place to sit down and eat, the blond nation spotted a flower that caught his attention. "Oh ! Avo ! Avo ! What's this ?" The Empire muttered something that looked like 'I'm still young' under his breath and looked over the shoulder of the blond, along with Hispania. "It's called 'Iris', it's beautiful, isn't it ?" The young nation seemed mesmerized by the flower and suddenly declared : "I'm gonna call it 'Fleur-de-lys'!" What was that, now ? Rome blinked at the weird language Franciae just spoke. He shook his head, not wanting to think about it anymore. "Can we eat next to it ?" Hispania asked, as he was beginning to be at ease with words. Rome laughed wholeheartedly and sat down, taking out the food of the bag he carried with him.

From there, everything went downhill. It has first began with the boys bickering over food. Rome was about to stand up to prevent them to come to hands but instantly stopped when he felt something constrict his throat. This kind of pain again ? Where the hell did they all came from ? It has been one year since he regularly felt pain when he wasn't hurt. And usually, each time it happened, he would-

Ba-dump

-see two little boys.

This time one was surrounded by worried people calling out what he supposed to be his name - Rome couldn't hear things correctly - and another one, against a wall, falling in an awkward position on the ground. 'H... Help ! Somebody... Blondie... Vino !'

He gasped when he felt his throat being released and noticed two worried faces making shadows on his head. "Grandpa ? You're okay ? We are sorry ! We won't get into a fight ever again ! Don't die please !" Franciae pleaded as Hispania vividly nodded. Rome didn't smile but still patted their heads. These pains were seriously beginning to worry him. Who were the boys ? Were they real, or were they just a piece of his imagination ?

They were real alright, but they also were two pieces of his heart.

__________________________________

When it happened, Vino was disconnected from reality : he just stared at Esmeralda's graceful body, and a smile stretched all over his face. That is, until that stupid blondie broke in, making the lady occupying his mind blush and be really awkward. He seemed nervous, a blush spread against his cheekbones. But still. Vino didn't like him, especially the way he came in, all mighty, to say : "My dear Esmeralda" He already didn't like were this was going. "I'm not a man of word but let me tell you that-" That's when Vino loudly gasped, and he didn't even do it on purpose : he felt like suffocating. Instantly, his hands began to claw at his neck to make whatever was making this feeling disappear. The two adults turned to him, and instantly called for help, not knowing what to do. The dominus - and the doctor coming for the regular checks of Felix - busted into the room as they were passing by to go to the other twin. It had been usual too, to see the doctor around. When Vino was suspicious, the man had only said : your twin has a poor body's condition, he has to be very careful, you know ? But right now, Vino wasn't suspicious. He was suffocating. "Gods ! Doctor ! What's happening to him ?!" Esmeralda cried out, trying to get a hold of the boy's arms before he hurt himself too much. Blood began to flow out of Vino's nose while his eyes were unfocused since he was forcefully plunged into his brother's mind. What was happening to Felix ? He began to drool when the adults noticed two hand shapes growing red on his neck. The young boy could only see two big arms.

... And suddenly, two eyes full of rage, hate and fury. He shuddered violently and suddenly gasped when his neck felt released. The relief he felt was quite short : Vino had quickly blacked out.

The doctor checked his pulse, and sighed. "It was a really hard panic attack. You should take care of him, to make sure it won't happen again. He could die from it, I can't do anything to heal that." The dominus looked weirdly at him : "But what about the hand-shape ?" The doctor quirked an eyebrow, mouth twitching downward. "Sometimes people thinks so much that something is happening to them that they have marks forming when there's nothing. He probably thought he was being strangled."

The master bit his lip. Did something caused Vino to remember his rape ? Did his rapist strangle him while doing the act ? He felt sorry for the boy. It has been one year since he began to try to help Vino getting through that. He didn't notice the worst thing to do was to forget and leave the other twin by himself.

Especially when someone that was frequently beating him just had strangled him to death.

The doctor stood up and declared : "I'm going to see how Felix's doing. Don't worry, take care of Vino. I'll find my way." All of them nodded.

______________________________________

Thus, the three of them felt Felix's first death, and the only 'real' victim was still lying down, still being a corpse, still in an awkward position, still stuck with a face of total despair.

The doctor entered the room, quite satisfied he managed to come alone. This... also became regular over the year, even though Felix never remembered what happened. The adult frown upon seeing the body. He couldn't be dead yet, could he ? His scientific research would be over and thrown away. As he pouted, he noticed a small tremor within the corpse. Oh ! So he could beat death at its own game ? Interesting. Very interesting.

The doctor took his material, and began his experiment. He could now call that a vivisection. Well... was it called a vivisection when the corpse was coming back to life ? The medic broke into fits of giggle, then chuckled before finishing by laughing maniacally.

.

The cheery blonde came into the room, smiling brightly at a Felix who had dull eyes, all hopes lost. He was sitting on the bed, blankets wrapped around him, legs tucked under them too. "So ! What's up, Felix ? I've heard you fell in the stairs ?" A nod. He wasn't even looking at the student, in fact, he wasn't looking at anything. "Man ! That must have been though ! I fell in the stairs too, once, and-" Here he was again, babbling about so much things at once and randomly changing the topic... Felix's legs still hurt - but after what that man had done to his limbs, he could understand why - and his neck wore a blue-ish hands-shaped mark under the blanket and the bandages the doctor had put on him. Nevertheless, he listened to his friend, having nothing better to do. He didn't know who to trust anymore, except his friend and his twin... "So you know, Felix, I've decided : I'll go pick Esmeralda's love flower off."

"What does that mean ?" Felix asked flatly, even if he was curious. The student just talked so weirdly. The thought made him smile a little bit and he wondered : if he was like the blond, would that make his surrounding happier ? Would he stop being a burden ? Would he be able to live freely with his brother ? "It means I'll take Esmeralda's virginity ! We're getting engaged !"

Felix's blood ran cold. His brother would be heartbroken and himself, as a punching ball, would be literally heart broken : the brute would certainly take his beating heart out and crush it under his foot.

Maybe he would die a second time ?