The Ryuugen Slave

A young boy at the approximate age of ten swore as he clawed at a pair of hands – hands that were clasped firmly around his slender neck. "Please!" He begged – voice feeble – "let go of me!" His voice was pleading; desperate even, for he was short of breath and his vision was growing blurry. He felt tears dripping down his cheeks; his strength lacking with every passing moment. Suddenly though, he fell to the floor – air rushing into his lungs as he let out a mighty gasp.

He stared up into his attacker's venomous eyes, his chest heaving – and he felt fear course through his veins. He wanted to say something, but he was far too afraid to do so, and besides, whenever he opened is mouth – nothing would come out. "What a naughty little boy you are, Xiao Long …" the silver-haired child shivered at the sound of the man's sadistic-sounding voice; a voice laced with venom and disdain … "You're lucky I didn't decide to punish you any more~ No, you're lucky that all you did was talk back to me …" He grinned dubiously, bending down and stoking his long silver lacks back. "You remind me so much of your father …" The boy known as Xiao Long flinched back at the man's words of ice, but he couldn't bring himself to tear his gaze away from him.

"You would think you know by now …" The man continued to speak, "You do not give orders. Rather, you receive them – and you complete them hastily. You do not talk back to me, but you obey without a word of opposition. You-" he took the boy's chin roughly in his hands. "-are my property. And if you dare have the audacity to think otherwise, I will have you killed. After all; you're just a worthless slave … There's more where you came from …" he purred, tapping a red-and-black tattoo that was perched on the child's shoulder … It was the mark of a Ryuugen Slave …

The man – apparently Xiao Long's Master – stood up straight, glowering down at the boy with the almond-shaped eyes. He smirked. "They said you were a unique specimen …" He sneered. "Trash, is more like it." His said, before he quickly turned on his heels, walking away. He slammed the door and locked it on his way out. The child whimpered softly to himself, pulling his knees up to his chin as a few stray tears leaked out of his eyes. Before he knew it – he was sobbing. 'They said they were taking me to an orphanage …' He thought as he cried, '… More like Hell … They never cared about me … No one did …'

Silver eyes fluttered open, a gasp following shortly afterwards as a young adult sat upright in bed. A bewildered glassy look was apparent in his breathtaking almond-shaped eyes, and his breath came out in short, yet quiet gasps. As his breathing settled, he became aware of the body next to him, sleeping peacefully. He smiled softly as he watched his lover rest – white moonlight was filtering in through an open window, caressing the other male's body; bathing him in ivory. His Alaskan Malamute – Charlie – was curled up by the other male's feet. He had stirred when the man had sat up in bed.

The dog quietly made his way over to him and lay down beside him, licking his hand affectionately. The silver-haired beauty smiled, patting him on the head – but never tore his gaze from his companion. He looked cute when he was asleep – far less annoying, also. The young man sighed softly, leaning back on his palms. "Oh, Jason …" He whispered, before his face fell once more. Not even the sight of his love could tear his mind from the dream he had just woken from …

Actually, it was more like the beginning of a nightmare … A nightmare he would be forced to live over and over and over again; one that he could never forget …

Xiao Long watched as child after child passed by in shackles, grief on their faces. A majority of them were female – dotted by the occasional male. They were all stripped of clothing, marching off towards an Auction House where they would find a new home and make a new life. They would live the life of a slave.

The children – all of which Chinese – were made to wait in a dark, dank-smelling room while their identification numbers were called. Xiao Long listened intently as number after number was called. 1002, 1003, 1004 … Finally, he heard "1021" … It was his turn. The young boy with silver hair – which fell to the small of his back – and matching eyes was led out onto a stage – set ablaze by several lights.

There were people everywhere, all of which eager to see what he had to offer. He gulped, attempting to hide his "privates," to no avail. His hands were yanked to the sides as everything about him was announced; exposed to the waiting public.

"His name is Wei Xiao Long;" they said his family-name first, followed by his given-name "Approximately 32 kilograms in weight; 152.4 centimeters tall. He was born in the year of the Monkey, and his star-sign is Pisces. This is a unique one, most certainly. He is still a virgin child; never beaten or harmed in any way – very loyal indeed. He is of mixed heritage – mother Chinese, father Chinese-American. Though he …" Xiao Long stopped listening, letting his eyes flutter shut as the murmuring of anxious bidders assaulted his eardrums. He could still remember the look on his parents' intricate faces as they sold him to slavery … His mother was in tears; his father looked distraught. Yet, why they appeared to be so grief-stricken was far beyond Xiao Long's comprehension. After all – they sold him to save themselves.

They had told him he was going to an orphanage – a place with many other children his age … "It hurts me to send you away, son." His father had said before he was taken away. "But it must be done …" Xiao Long had stared wordlessly at his parents as he was taken away; away from their small farmhouse on the edge of Da Ci Tang Lu, where he was shipped to Shanghai, then onto Zhengzhou to Beijing from there – where he would be sold as a slave …

"Sold!" The announcer's booming voice ripped him from his thoughts, and he had to struggle to keep from shrieking. He tripped over his own two feet as he was dragged from the stage away into a room – where he would wait for whoever bought him … His Master. He remained silent the entire time, staring wordlessly at the floor. Even as someone came in and wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. When people appeared with food, he shook his head – a blatant refusal. He was offered several different times – each time he refused. Eventually, they grew frustrated with him and stopped offering all-together.

As time dragged on, however, he regretted turning their offers for food down as his hunger grew – he hadn't eaten a decent meal in days …

Finally, they returned to him. Xiao Long looked up, and he saw there was another man with them. He was dressed in an elegant black suit with a lilac-colored tie. He was obviously not of Chinese culture – his feature certainly gave that away quickly. His eyes were large – but not quite almond-shaped – and his lips were thin. His skin was relatively pale, and he was completely washed-out by his dark, dark hair. Xiao Long gulped when he saw the devious look in his eyes of rain.

"My," the man said. His voice was silky and suave – alluring, yet it seemed to hide a hidden agenda, keeping people at bay. "You look so much like your father," Xiao Long was taken aback by his words, "of course, you have a lot of your mother in you, also …" he continued, ignoring the child's bewildered gaze. "I used to know them well, Xiao Long." He explained, "and when I heard their precious son was here, well, I just could not sit there and do nothing!" He smiled dubiously, as if he was hiding something; and that's exactly the feeling Xiao Long received. He shivered slightly as he gazed into the elder man's eyes.

His senses were going off – telling his danger was approaching. More so when he extended his hand towards him. His sleeve rose slightly with the gesture, exposing a black-and-red tattoo with it. Just the sight of it screamed "danger" … And he Xiao Long foolishly took the man's outstretched hand. He smiled – a sadistic-looking smile – as the child took his hand. "My name is d'Quincy. Gregory d'Quincy … And you, Wei Xiao Long, will be coming with me to America …"

When they returned to d'Quincy's manor in America, Xiao Long's intuition was proven to be correct – absolute. As soon as they entered his impressive-looking mansion, he was shackled by servants  and taken down into the basement, where several other children of varying ages were sitting – dirty and crying. Each of them has a small red-and-black dragon tattoo with a circle around it on various places of their bodies. It was no bigger than two inches – the size of a brand used for cows and horses.

"These are my slaves." Xiao Long's head whipped around when he heard d'Quincy's seductive voice ring out behind him. "I buy them at Auctions and sell them for twice as much that I paid." He grinned at the look of surprise on the child's face. "This here," he took a girl's arm and tapped the tattoo "Is the brand of a Ryuugen Slave. I'm sure you've heard of the Ryuugen before?" Xiao Long nodded. The Ryuugen were Chinese smugglers – they shipped Opium (illegally) to other countries to sell. "I'm their Right-hand-man~!" d'Quincy stated with glee.

He took his jacket off and rolled up the sleeve of his shirt, exposing a large dragon tattoo climbing up his arm. "And you-" he pointed at Xiao Long "-are going to be my slave."

As a slave, he and the other children were forced to do things his servants could never do – whether it was to import Opium or to satisfy sexual desires. If people asked, they were required to say they lived in an Orphanage with strict rules … And if asked about the Ryuugan brand, they were to make up a convincing story to fool the incompetent bystanders.

Xiao Long seemed to be d'Quincy's favorite slave. The Chinese-American did everything for him – even kept him company at night when he was feeling lonely. He was never "touched" unless Xiao Long allowed it (which was rare) – only once was he ever forced to give himself up … Though he was treated better than the others, his punishments were always severe and he was hardly fed a bit (though he was given sweet on occasion for good behavior.) He developed a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome; feelings other than hatred for his Master blossoming in his chest, making themselves present.

He was sold to d'Quincy at te age of six, and lived as his slave until he was ten and a half – when his "orphanage" was learned about by the police. Xiao Long and the remaining others were freed … And Xiao Long was never the same again after that. The silver-haired child's personality seemed to alter entirely. Before he was sold into slavery, he was always very polite and kind. He was loyal – always doing as he was told, and he was oh-so-sensitive … Now, however, he was sarcastic, blunt and he seemed to get annoyed rather easily … He had cut his hair short – though he vowed he never would – and wore glasses, despite the fact that he didn't need any … He wanted to forget everything about himself. But he couldn't – with the brand of a Ryuugen Slave forever on his shoulder and a name that made his stomach churn and bile rise in his throat …

He was sent to school, and was even eligible to skip a few grades – with a surprisingly large IQ, he did an outstanding job. He graduated at the top of his class at the age of sixteen, before he moved on to collage to become a Police Man – the people who saved him from a life of slavery and abuse. When he turned eighteen (he was still attending a Police Academy) and was finally allowed to start a life of his own without consent from his Foster-Mother (he was never adopted) he got the Ryuugen brand removed, though it left a nasty scar on his arm. Shortly afterwards, he changed his name – he never wanted to be reminded of who he was again. He vowed to become someone different; someone new and clean and pure … - and he changed it to-

"Xavier," the man with silver hair turned his head as he was snapped out of his thoughts, and he met his lover's beautiful violet gaze. "What's wrong?" He asked in that harmonious baritone of his, "Can't sleep?" The silver-eyed boy looked at his companion for a long while before sighing softly. He smirked as he saw his bare partner sit up in bed, the blankets pooling gently around his waist, exposing his milky flesh and strong torso and arms. He chuckled quietly to himself, before nodding slowly.

"Yeah …" he sighed, before suddenly wrapping his arms around the other's neck. "Jason …" he whispered in his ear, "Wo ai ni name duo ..." He nuzzled into the slightly older male's chest, his soft locks falling into his eyes – which were glimmering with excess moisture – shrouding them. Charlie had licked his owner's cheek softly as a tear slid down one of them.

Xiao Long – no, Xavier – only showed his true self around Jason – the one he loves the most. He was often sentimental around him – at least, he's sentimental now that he managed to confess his feelings. Before they began dating, he acted towards him like Xavier does everyone else – cold, distant and brash …

Jason looked surprised at Xavier's sudden actions – even more so because he had no idea what his companion had said to him. He just laughed nervously "ah, yeah. You … you too …" He said as he wrapped his arms around the boy's slender torso, pulling him close. Their bare bodies conformed to one another; their limbs entangling together, their chests pressing against each other's, their fingers threaded between one-another's. Even more when Jason lay back down in bed – Xavier resting on top of him, his head still buried in his chest. Charlie came to rest his front paws on the pillow by their heads – panting happily, and Xavier hummed softly to himself, smiling slightly as bliss swept over him, taking place of the sorrow he felt only moments ago …

Perhaps when he felt the time was right he would tell Jason about his past – about everything that happened to him. In time – when (if) he believed that their relationship would last – he would tell him his whole story … He had told him once that he lived in a Orphanage with strict rules … He hadn't meant to say that – it was a force of habit, and old habits are hard to break … He wondered vaguely though, if Jason would believe him if he told him about his past, or if he would grow furious that he had never said anything; that he had – unintentionally, of course – lied to him about the orphanage … He sighed softly to himself at the thought. I won't bother myself with it tonight … He told himself, Right now, I just want to show this man how much I love him … And with that thought he kissed Jason's collar bone softly before resting his cheek on his chest, – nuzzling into his once more – humming softly, and closing his eyes.