In the End

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His muscles and bones hurt, from being forced in the same position for hours. His knees were pressed up against his chest, and he was shoved in with fifty other people in a cart that was obviously not made for fifty people. Some people were crying, others were screaming, or fighting. But he wasn't. He'd been through this three times in five years. Each master something wrong with him, and sending him back to the human traffickers. He'd become....numb. Completely and totally numb to the cruel way he was treated. 39-A was his name, until his new master named him.

He almost wished that he wouldn't be bought again. It was his fourth time up to auction. They weren't going to waste money on him a fifth time, then they'd end it all, and he wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore. No more sick men who gave him the creeps whenever they looked at him. No more cruel women who'd beat him for the smallest of mistakes. No more bratty little kids who needed his attention every five seconds. Yeah, the sweet embrace of death sounded better and better everyday.

He cursed his father and mother, for their disobedience to the king. But no, it was not them who were punished, but their eleven year old son. He was just a child, but that was his reality. Where were they now? He sometimes wondered.

They stopped. Men were yelling out orders and the slaves were taken one by one into a tall marble building. His chains were tugged on roughly, almost causing him to fall on his face. "Move, scum!" The man pulling him screamed pulling harder.

"Yes sir." He said quietly, lowering his head in submission. It was easier that way. When one was submissive, then the people who owned him were slightly less likely to hit him, or attack him.

The man snarled in annoyance, but didn't say anything more, as he lead the 16 year old behind the curtain where all the others were being kept. He was glad that they allowed him to keep his ratty clothes that time, instead of displaying his body completely for the audience to see.
 
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King Simon stood with his wife, Queen Lily, before the auction audience. They had to find a new servant for their son. The last had... Well, run away. They didn't mind all that much, because they had enough wealth to deal with things like that. It was always weird being a part of a crowd that was after nastier things. The royal family just need help within their home and son and kingdom...

A young boy caught their eye, someone Prince Samuel could boss about and tell commands. It was something their wonderful, smart son would have to do at some point in time.

The auction ran through quickly- slave after slave after slave. It was terrible. There was only one boy that seemed to stand out, so they were quick to put down the most money. He would belong to the royal family. When they asked for his name, the man said a serial number, some code, so they were a little shocked to hear. No name? They would have to name his then... something high class and handsome. He would have to fit in with everyone.

Caleb. The slave's name would be Caleb. It was an interesting ride back home to the castle. Samuel was getting dressed- his usual black, red, and gold coat with straight legged pants. He buttoned up one side before doing the other and looking in the mirror. He walked out the door and to their personal library before getting called down to the main hall.

Walking down the steps, he saw his parents walk in the castle, servants following. But shortly after, a young boy walked in with them. Samuel was surprised by the stranger before he cleared his throat and stood straight. He didn't think about it before he straightened his crown and looked down to the small crowd gathered in the lobby.

"Samuel, my son, we're home to... Introduce you to Caleb," the Queen said, pushing the young boy out of ahead of them so that Samurl could get a good look at him. "He will be... Your assistant, okay?"
 
He knew better then to speak without being spoken too. He kept his head lowered to the floor, making sure not to look the royals or their servants in the eye. The cuffs on his hands were starting to chafe, causing him pain, but he wasn't going to say anything. These cuffs were special. They had no key holes. To unlock them, you had to brake the person's wrists and fingers to slip them through. Maybe he'd just suggest they cut the chains and let him keep the cuffs on until they got rid of him.

He looked up slowly at the young prince who he was being given too. He snapped his head to one side when he heard his new name. It was an interesting name. It sounded more noble then the others he'd been given before.
 
Samuel descended the stairs and sort of arched his brow a bit. That was odd to hear those words after so long. He couldn't believe that there was someone to take Nathan's place. He swallowed and stepped down in front of Caleb, reaching his hand out to stroke at Caleb's forearm. He was a little worried that the boy was too thin and... Weak. Staring at him, Samuel took a step back, feeling strange for touching him.

"My name Samuel, the prince. I hope that... we don't overwhelm you," he said softly, knowing about their lineage. They were bound to be intimidating when around others. He just watched Caleb and tried to watch any odd function of his...
 
"No, my prince." His voice was soft, from years of training it to be that way. "I'll...adapt." He felt a little uncomfortable with the hand that was touching him lightly. He pressed his lips tightly together, to keep from crying out and demanding the prince stop touching him. He knew better then that. Such disrespect would never be tolerated inside the walls of the kingdom. Especially to the heir of their throne.

He let himself grow bolder, and looked around him, taking in all the beauty. The man servants, the extravagant clothes. He gave the prince a low boy at the hips. "Please find me worthy master." He said.
 
Samuel sort of arched his eyebrows when the young man bowed and offered such quiet and gentle words. His last servant had attacked him, so he was a little shocked by it... "Yes? Caleb, would you come along with me? We're going to go over to the smith... to get these cuffs off, and then you'll bathe and someone will find you some clothes... Today will be easy..." He didn't want to touch Caleb again, because he'd seen that he was a little more distant than he wanted. That was okay... for now. Sam turned to lead the way and smiled at him over his shoulder, making sure that his crown stayed level on his head.
 
"As you wish, my prince." The slave said, fallowing the teen through the halls, and down into a basement like place where he was going to get his chains taken off. He found it odd that his new master was going to make his first day 'easy.' The others had just thrown him right to work, cooking, cleaning, gardening. He worried his bottom lip between his teeth. "Master? Why are you doing this?" He asked, wincing at his stupid choice to speak out of turn.
 
Samuel didn't mind too much about the question. He sort of rubbed his neck once he was out of view of his parents. They were very strict and probably hated that he was being to nice to a new servant. He escorted him all the way down to the room before speaking. He explained to their smith that he wanted the cuffs off completely without any injuries at all. It was too soon for something like that. The smith nodded and took Caleb's hands and set them on the table, grabbing his tools to work the pieces apart and off.

"If you mean... being nice to you, then... it's just... something I'm used to? I couldn't imagine mistreating someone younger than myself. You'll learn our rules and a bit more than that, so... I really want to trust you. I do. So please... don't question my kindness too much."
 
"Yes, forgive me master, I won't question you again." He flinched a few times when the hammer was brought down onto his chains. It didn't take long until they were gone from his hands. He rubbed his wrists and looked them over, not really inhibited by the angry red marks they had left.

He bowed his head respectively to the smith. "Thank you sir." He said, before standing straight again. He looked over at his master, and waited for further instructions, yet not wanting to hop straight to work right away. It had been a long trip, after all.
 
Samuel hadn't meant to scare Caleb off like that. He wanted Caleb to be open to asking things like he had been. He swallowed a little and tried to distract himself from being upset about it. "No, please, feel free to ask away. I just want to be kind to you.... Caleb, are you hungry at all? We could eat and then bathe, if you'd like..."
 
"Ah, I don't really have much of an apatite." he admitted, putting a hand on his stomach. "I don't really like eating, until I've settled into a place. Just...new masters make my stomach turn, and-" He cut himself off again, looking at the floor. "Forgive me sir, I meant no disrespect."
 
Sammy was trying his best to ignore those kinds of comments, so he just took a deep breath and smiled wide and warmly. "Let's go get a bath drawn for you and get you some clothes." He was trying to be kind and warm and open and... nice. He led them up to the bathroom and made the water hot and waiting for Caleb. "You can do this all yourself I take it? And I'll get you some clothes that will fit you, alright?" He didn't want to make his servant uncomfortable, so he excused himself from the bathroom and walked to their closet, looking through the various clothes they kept in the castle.
 
"Thank you." He said simply. When the door was closed he quickly stripped out of the dirty robes the traffickers dared to call clothes. He dipped a toe in the water, to test it out, then slowly sunk in, letting out a pleased sigh. Normally slaves were just hosed off, so the change of pace was nice. He felt back for being rude to the prince earlier, especially when he didn't lash out for being insulted.

He slipped deep into the water, until his entire head was covered. He blew out small bubbles and looked up at the world, through blurry eyes. When he came back up, gasping for breath, he couldn't help but wonder how long such kind treatment would last.
 
Samuel had gathered a few items of clothing, that looked a little more formal than the rest of the staff. Caleb would be seen often with the royal family. He stared at all the threads and saw some gold pieces, smiling to himself as he stood outside of the bathroom. He let the boy rest and wash up for about twenty minutes before knocking on the door and announcing a few things. "I'm going to leave some clothes and shoes outside the door... After you're all done, let's take a walk through the castle, okay? We'll take a tour!" That was all Sam said before stepping away and going down the hall to gather a few things for himself.
 
He rolled his eyes a little at the prince's enthusiasm. Maybe that was uncalled for, but he really couldn't help but be annoyed by it. The slave had been taken from his home, forced into slavery, bought like meat, and here this guy was acting like the world was made from puppies an kittens.

He thought about his new name. It was certainly kinder then the others he'd been given, but he'd still been given an name by people who owned him. "This is total horse shit." He muttered to himself, glaring at the bathroom wall.
 
Sammy just let Caleb stay in the tub for as long as he wanted. There was nothing he wanted more than to make this better. He would have to ask Caleb what it is that he wanted more out of this. He couldn't pull all the strings, but he couldn't just... make Caleb miserable. He walked up to his room, looking around slowly before finding a new coat and buttoning it up, just as he was shown to. He didn't want to make this all seem... off.
 
He got out of the tub and hobbled over to the door in the freezing air. He opened it slightly, and grabbed the clothes that had been laid out for him. When he was completely covered and was no longer shivering, he opened the door, and stepped into the room with the prince. "So, what should we do now, your majesty?" He asked, trying to keep his angry thoughts under wraps. It would do no good to lash out.
 
Samuel tried to stay relaxed, smiling softly at Caleb. "I guess... We should go out to the garden next." He turned to start walking, not bothering to see if Caleb was following him. He felt so bad about all of this, so he tried to just... figure it all out. "I want you to be honest with me... It's okay if you hate me for it... but I just want to know if you .. wanted to be called something else? It's not like you got to choose the name Caleb. And what do you want to do here? Because I have no idea right now..."
 
He fallowed behind the prince, making sure he wasn't too close. That would be rude. He rolled his eyes at the thought. He listened to the prince's words. "I don't remember my old name." He said, trying not to sound disrespectful. "Call me what you will, it doesn't matter to me anymore." He looked over a group of trees. "We could go sit there, if you wanted?"
 
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