Not In This Lifetime Ch. 07

Trigger warnings & Author's notes

May contain: violence, domination, degradation, sadism, non-consent/coercion, slavery.

Sorry, much is going on in life and progress is slower than I'd like.

Chapter Seven: kiran

(present timeline)

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Kiran approached the general's villa in a city cab. He sat in the back seat, idly watching the fancy houses as they drove through the noble neighborhood. A young man of 24, he came from an upper middle-class family of royalists -- that is, citizens within the Domarcan kingdom who remained faithful to the crown despite the amount of support the rebellion had garnered over the past eight years. Kiran's parents prided him on his blossoming career as a member of the royal guard and of his being stationed at the personal residence of the general of the royal army. As far as they were concerned, their son was on the fast track to success.

Kiran had initially spoken openly to his parents about his job and about the fate of Mile Domarc.

"Such is the price of treachery," his father had commented. "It is truly a shock that king Allius Domarc didn't call for his execution. If you ask me, his brother let him off easy."

Kiran, having spent nearly every waking hour with Mile over the past few months and having witnessed his depression firsthand, wasn't so sure he agreed. Death almost seemed more merciful, and Mile himself had voiced on numerous occasions that it would be preferable. Eventually Kiran stopped talking to his parents about the situation entirely. He was sympathetic to Mile and couldn't bear to hear the contempt that his parents and other royalists had for the man when he himself did not share it. He didn't dare express these feelings to his family. They would never understand. The cab stopped in front of the villa and Kiran paid the driver and stepped out into the warm sun. He sighed and stretched before heading down the path to the front doors to begin his shift.

The doorman greeted him as he approached and they exchanged brief pleasantries before he entered. Once inside, he surveyed the building, locating Oron sitting at the dining room table. The gruff man was slumped over, cheek resting against his palm, dozing off.

"Oi, Oron," Kiran called to him, the older man startling awake.

"Hey, Kiran. That time again?" Oron asked once he had recovered from the jolt of being woken abruptly.

Kiran nodded and sat across from him. "Where's Mile?"

Oron yawned and looked at his watch. "Outside with Welles. Doing their weird thing again."

Kiran laughed and stood, patting the other man on the back in a friendly gesture as he walked behind him to the back door.

"I'm off, then," Oron called to him, getting a casual wave from Kiran, who then walked out into the back garden.

Kiran heard the clink of steel before he saw them -- he realized pretty quickly that today they were actually dueling with swords. "Fancy," he thought to himself. He raised his hand in greeting to the general as he approached, and the man gave him a nod. Kiran settled himself on a bench, intrigued by the swordsmanship of the two men. It was a bit of a lost art; typically only practiced by a handful of nobles -- the type that was hung up on tradition and thus insisted their children learn and practice the archaic skill that would likely never serve them in their lives.

Kiran found it interesting watching the interactions between the two men. Mile seemed to dislike and resent the general, and yet Kiran couldn't help but notice the way he subtly came alive in the man's presence -- the way his eyes would light up and he would observe him overtly whenever he was near. They could be in the middle of a conversation and if Welles walked in, Mile's focus would shift entirely to the other man even if they didn't interact directly. It was a drastic change from Mile's initial attitude toward him. Kiran suspected that the way in which Mile looked at him had quite a bit to do with why the general had brought him here in the first place. He had come to understand that the two had something of a history that he wasn't privy to.

Mile especially seemed to come alive during their sparring, giving it his all. He couldn't say for sure whether it was the fighting Mile enjoyed or simply the company of the general, but Kiran was inclined to think that Mile actually quite liked the man, even despite the position the general had put him in. Though amused, he wasn't the least bit surprised when their matches would often times progress into them passionately fucking on the garden floor. In such instances Kiran would just laugh and relocate himself to give them privacy, though they hardly seemed to notice him at that point. The two definitely had a "weird" love-hate relationship, as Oron referred to it.

Kiran gazed at the men as they continued their sword fighting. He noted that Mile was quite good, no doubt having had the best trainers in the land growing up. He was able to get the upper hand on the general on multiple occasions. Kiran wondered why Symond allowed Mile this opportunity; when armed with a sword, Mile could surely kill him if he wanted to. After another fifteen minutes or so, Symond raised his hand to indicate to Mile that it was over.

"I'm afraid I must cut this short -- I've got a meeting to attend." Mile said nothing. "Kiran, take this," he called, raising the sword slightly. Kiran jumped to his feet and took the sword from the general. "Mile knows where they go. Make sure it's locked. I'll see you both later." Kiran nodded and Mile turned away with no acknowledgment of Symond's words. Kiran fell into step behind him. They walked into the storage closet that Symond used exclusively for weapons, and Mile placed his sword on an empty wall mount. Kiran did the same with his.

Kiran looked around the closet at all the various weapons. "Jesus," he said under his breath. Mile looked at him. "So many guns. You could seriously just ... take one and he'd never know. I can't believe he lets you in here."

Mile shrugged. "They are not loaded. And he would know." He walked out of the closet, waiting for Kiran to join him. Kiran eventually got his fill of admiring the weapons and stepped out as well. Mile turned the lock and pushed the door shut. Kiran was looking at him like he wanted to say something.

"Mile, have you ... given up?" Kiran seemed to struggle to get this out tactfully.

Mile blinked rapidly, uncomfortable by the query. "Given up what?" He questioned, though he was pretty sure he knew what the younger man was asking.

"You know, given up on the rebellion. Given up on your freedom."

Mile looked away. "What's it to you?"

Kiran looked down, biting his lip nervously. "I don't know. Getting to know you has made me reconsider everything I thought I was so sure about before. I guess I realized I want things to be different."

Mile looked back at the young guard, studying his face. He was unsure if he had an ulterior motive with this line of questioning.

"What choice do I have but to give up, Kiran? I have no allies, and even if I did, I have no way to contact them."

"The general gives you a lot of freedom. you could find a way."

Mile said nothing, and Kiran pressed on.

"You could start over. A new rebellion."

Mile scoffed. "I don't ... want to do that. I'm just ... so fucking tired of fighting. I have nothing to fight for anymore. Everyone I care about is dead."

"Everyone?" Kiran found himself asking without thought. Mile frowned at the implication and walked away.

Kiran followed him sheepishly, hoping he hadn't gone too far.

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"General Welles, how long has it been since we conquered my brother and his gang of traitors?"

"Going on five months now, your highness." Symond wondered where the young king was going with this.

"Right. So, you can imagine my surprise when I was informed that there is talk of a resurgence." Allius Domarc glanced at him almost reproachfully. Symond gazed back at the king, unsure of how to reply.

Allius continued, "their leaders are conquered and still they resist?"

"They had a lot of support, highness," Symond said tentatively. "I am sure there are those who were willing to take over where the former leaders left off." Allius Domarc's face twisted into an unpleasant scowl at his words.

After a few moments of silence, Allius spoke again. "We need to deal with this before it becomes a bigger problem, general."

Symond gave a nod. "I agree, your highness. It would certainly be prudent to do so."

"How is my brother?"

Symond tensed slightly at the question. Any interest Allius had in Mile was bad news, as far as he was concerned. Symond gave a small shrug.

"Unhappy."

Allius let out a curt laugh. "As he should be."

Months ago, when Allius Domarc had done what his father had failed to do and ordered the take-down of the rebellion base in Lightley, Symond had requested that he be permitted to take Mile as his slave. In normal circumstances it wasn't a strange request -- it was quite common for conquerors to enslave their conquests. He had been advised by his colleagues that it was perhaps a dangerous request given the circumstances -- the fact that Mile was the son of the late king and brother to the king made for an unprecedented situation. A general enslaving a former member of the royal family was also unprecedented. Allius Domarc was an unpredictable and volatile man, there was no telling how he would react to the general's request. In the end, though, Allius had taken great pleasure upon hearing it.

"Yes," he had said gleefully, "force him into the lifestyle he so desperately wants to wipe from society. For Mile that is a fate worse than death. He does not deserve the easy way out." The two of them had not spoken about Mile since then. Until now, that is.

Allius looked over the general. "I want you to get names from him. Find out who he worked with, any future plans they may have had, who might be leading them currently."

"Your majesty, Mile will not be inclined to tell me any of those things."

Allius shot him a dangerous look. "He is your slave, Welles. Make him. Torture it out of him if you must; I do not care, general. Get me the information."

Symond bowed his head in assent. "Yes, your highness."

Allius smirked. "Give my regards to Mile. You are dismissed, general."

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By the time Symond arrived home, Mile had fallen asleep on the sofa. Amused, he noticed that Kiran was folded up in the love seat, also fast asleep. The young guard was clearly taking his duties very seriously. Symond liked the young man well enough, though, and Mile seemed to enjoy his company. Fortunately for all of them, Mile didn't seem prepared to make waves.

Hit with reality again, Symond sighed and sat on the couch next to Mile. Mile stirred awake from the added weight on the cushions, and pushed himself upright when he saw the general there.

"Sorry for waking you."

Mile eyed him apprehensively before looking away again. Symond wasn't sure what he was even doing. He had desired to be near the younger man after the meeting with the king. They looked so alike but they couldn't be more different. It was strange, he realized, how one of the Domarc brothers ruled him and he ruled the other. Truly an unusual twist of fate.

"I met with your brother," Symond said, surprising even himself at the candidness of the statement. Mile's attention was fully on him now, an eyebrow raised slightly in interest. Symond looked away. "I am to get information from you regarding the rebellion and those that you worked with." He returned his gaze to the other when he was met with silence. Mile was still looking at him. He continued. "The king has insisted I resort to torture, should you be unwilling to cooperate."

Mile actually laughed, causing Kiran to stir in the loveseat. "That sounds about right." He paused, taking in the other's body language. Symond was uncharacteristically tense. "Is that what you are going to do?"

Symond sighed, still looking away. "Do I need to?"

"I have nothing to say to you -- or to him," Mile said definitively.

Symond leaned back into the sofa, staring at nothing in particular. "I know."

They sat there for a few minutes in silence as Kiran sat upright and stretched. Symond gave Mile's leg a pat and stood. "Have a good night, you two." With that, he exited to his chambers, Mile watching him as he walked away.

Kiran yawned and stretched his upper body. "What was that about?"

Mile shrugged. "Apparently my brother wants me to give him information about the rebellion."

"Huh."

They were both quiet for a bit before Kiran spoke again. "Sounds like bad news."

"Maybe." Mile looked thoughtful. "Maybe not."