Fourth Day (2 of 6)

Breaking Free: Believing that he is getting inadequate care in the Marsh Sanctum, Mulsae tries to take Damion back home with him

'Breaking Free' Content Warning: Erotic Psychological Drama

This story contains scenes of psychological distress, dubiously consensual intimacy, emotional dependency, complex trauma recovery, and themes of power imbalance and identity reconstruction.

This story explores the fragile process of healing after long-term dehumanization, the difficulty of regaining agency, and the intimate entanglements that form in the aftermath of captivity.

Proceed with care.

"He's considered highly dangerous," she says softly.

Mulsae scoffs. "Damion has a gentle heart." He starts to release Damion's wrists. "He's only dangerous when threatened."

"Mulsae, you can't be here," says another familiar voice.

Mulsae scoffs again. "You all promised and promised to take care of him. You clearly aren't, so I will."

"Mulsae, let Selune handle this. We're needed in the Flame Sanctum."

"Selune's people are those that did this to him!" Mulsae exclaims. He finishes releasing Damion's wrists and Damion starts to rub them. Mulsae starts on releasing the restraint across Damion's middle.

"You know we can't control all of our people."

"It was her own godsdamn city watch!" Mulsae exclaims and angrily releases the middle restraint. The other voice Damion can't quite identify sighs. Mulsae moves down to release Damion's ankles.

A soothing power begins to approach. Damion recognizes it as Selune arriving.

"Mulsae," Selune says calmly, "You're not supposed to see him."

"You're not taking care of him," Mulsae snaps, "So I will."

"He's not a prisoner anymore, it's his choice to go and do whatever he wants," Selune says placatingly. "And sometimes there are consequences to those decisions."

Mulsae huffs. He finishes releasing Damion's ankles and promptly crouches down by Damion's face, "Do you want to sit up?" Damion nods and Mulsae helps him to a sitting position. Damion can now see the other voice belongs to Heaven Master Halion.

Selune steps close to Damion and Mulsae and puts a gentle hand on both of their shoulders, "I see that you care deeply for him, Mulsae, but he isn't your responsibility any more."

"He will always be my responsibility," Mulsae snaps. He shrugs off Selune's hand and kneels down to rub Damion's ankles while Damion rubs his wrists.

Selune crouches down with Mulsae, "You need to let him go, Mulsae."

"No!" Mulsae hisses.

"I'll take care of him," Selune soothes.

"You haven't been," Mulsae hisses again.

"Mulsae, you don't have time for this. We need to go back to the Flame Sanctum," Halion pleads.

"Damion left Reedrest. That was his choice. His movements aren't restricted," says Selune.

Mulsae turns to Halion, "Fuck Flame," he turns back to Selune, "Why did he leave the palace? Why was he alone?" He stands and puts a hand on Damion's shoulder, "Why did you leave the palace?" Selune stands up with him.

Damion shrugs and looks down bashfully, "I was upset."

"Why were you upset?" Mulsae asks soothingly.

Damion lets loose a big sigh, "It's stupid."

"It's not stupid if it upset you," Mulsae runs soothing circles onto Damion's shoulder with his thumb.

He sighs again. "Falloway left suddenly, and then the shopkeeper kicked me out for being an Emberai."

"Why did Falloway leave you?" Selune asks.

"She said she had somewhere she had to be," Damion answers. Selune's face turns to a frown.

"Who's Falloway?" asks Mulsae.

"She's the counselor I sent to help Damion's transition," says Selune while deep in thought. "She was supposed to stay with you and help you with everything you need."

Damion shrugs, "I've barely seen her."

Selune shakes her head, "I'm sorry, Damion. I'll transfer you to a different counselor, okay?"

"How can I trust your people any more, Selune?" growls Mulsae.

"These decisions aren't up to you anymore, Mulsae." Selune places a hand on his shoulder, "You should go back to the Flame Sanctum."

"Let's go, Mulsae," encourages Halion, "Damion is in good hands."

"I clearly can't trust you," Mulsae hisses. He turns to Damion, "What do you want to do? I can bring you to The City. You can live there. It's safer than here. And then I can easily take care of you whenever you need it."

Halion questions Mulsae's statement, "The rumors report that Drenvaar is a depraved city, and dangerous."

Mulsae hisses at Halion and scowls. He turns back to Damion, "Do you want me to bring you to The City?"

"That's not a good idea for either of you," Selune cautions gently.

"I don't know what I want," Damion whispers. I've wanted you with me so desperately. But I look at you and I hate you.

Mulsae squeezes Damion's shoulder reassuringly, "I understand. You're in no rush to make a decision, and you can always change your mind and make a different decision later."

Damion squeezes the palms of his hands into his bruised and beaten eyes. I want to go to Lirae. I want you to take care of me. But I'm so scared of you.

"I understand," Mulsae says sadly.

"Mulsae, please, we need to go," Halion pleads. Mulsae hisses at him.

"Damion, I'll assign you another counselor. Please give them a chance," Selune says soothingly. Damion groans loudly.

"I'll meet with you later tonight and give you a Heavenwood parchment we'll share," Selune says. Damion lowers his hands from his face. "It will be a direct line to contact me. If you have any problems, concerns, or even comments, you'll be able to write to me on the Heavenwood, okay?"

"You didn't give him one earlier?!" Mulsae flails his arms and turns to pace. "I thought you said you had experienced people for this! You said you help women with this all the time!" Mulsae snarls, "Or is that the problem. Is it because he's a man?"

"I'll investigate personally to find out what happened," Selune reassures, "He shouldn't be discriminated against for being a man."

Damion scoffs, "No, it's because I'm Emberan."

"What do you mean?" Mulsae's voice grows grave.

"Whenever someone learns I am Emberan they're immediately afraid of me," Damion laments.

"What kind of city do you have here?!" exclaims Mulsae.

"Like Drenvaar is any better," Halion scoffs. Mulsae hisses at him.

"The City doesn't discriminate like this. They accept everyone. Come. Come to The City," Mulsae pleads to Damion.

Selune puts a hand on both of their shoulders, "You two need to be separated." She turns to Damion, "You shouldn't live in the Water Sanctum until you've been successfully independent for quite awhile."

Mulsae shrugs off Selune's hand, "That's bullshit."

"It's best for both of you," Selune gently recommends.

Damion looks up at Selune, "The counselor is supposed to stay with me?"

"Yes."

"And help me with everything I need, like even stupid shit like what your currency means?"

"Yes, the counselor is supposed to help you with everything."

"And if I get left alone again, I could just go to L--- The City?"

"I don't recommend you go to the Water Sanctum, but I understand if you give up on my help if I fail you again. I will personally speak with the new counselor and I will stress upon them that they are to make themselves available to you for the entire day every day, okay?" Selune looks into Damion's eyes trying to press upon him to trust her one more time.

Damion matches Selune's stare, "Okay. I'll try another counselor and see how it goes," he turns to Mulsae, "If I get stressed out again, I'll reach out to you."

"Please reach out to me if you get stressed out again," Selune pleads gently.

Damion lowers his head, "We'll see how I feel if I get stressed out again."

Selune pats his shoulder, "Thank you for giving me a chance to make this right, Damion." He looks up to Selune meekly and nods his head.

"It's time to go, Mulsae," Halion chimes in his reminder.

Mulsae pulls his hand through his hair as he paces, "Okay! Okay, this is reasonable," Mulsae openly reassures himself.

"It's okay to go now, Mulsae. Damion is safe. I'll make sure there is someone with him for the rest of the day," Selune tries to assure Mulsae.

"I'd really like that," Damion says relieved.

"Okay," Mulsae says. He then rushes to crouch down in front of Damion and grabs his hands, "Be safe. Contact Selune directly if you have concerns. Contact me directly for anything you want. Okay?" Damion nods.

Mulsae stands and pulls his hand through his hair, "Okay. I'll go back to Flame." He turns to Halion.

Mulsae takes one more look at Damion, expression sorrowful. I want to beg him to stay with me. "Be safe. Be happy," Mulsae says then turns and walks out the door. But I'm terrified he'll turn around and return.

Halion nods and turns to follow. Their footsteps disappear down the hallway. Mulsae is gone. Again. I have been wanting him so desperately, and then when I finally face him I push him away.

Selune pulls a chair over to Damion and sits next to him. "I'm going to send in healers to tend to you. Elirick will stay with you the entire time." She looks over to her and she nods.

"After you're healed you will stay here with Elirick and I will send an escort to come and pick you up and bring you directly to me," Selune continues, "We'll have dinner, discuss what happened so I can fix things, and then we'll discuss what happens next. Does that sound okay?" Damion nods.

"I'm going to go assign the healers now, and I will assure them that you aren't dangerous."

Damion swallows and nods, "Thank you," he whispers. With that, Selune squeezes his hands and gets up to leave.

"Wow, you have the Sanctum Masters tripping over themselves to help you. How'd you manage that?" Elirick asks amused.

Damion sighs. He lies down on his back. He's exhausted and in pain everywhere, becoming increasingly worse as his adrenaline wears off. "It's an awful story. The awfulness is probably why they're competing to help me."

"You've got my ear for a few hours. Do you want to talk about it?"

He sighs, "It's... awful."

"I work in a hospital, I've seen some awful things."

Damion huffs a laugh, "I'll be surprised if you've heard of a case worse than mine."

"Try me," she says with a smile.

Damion chuckles, "You asked for it."

"That I have."

"Do you know about Emberai?"

"Just that they're the Windborne of the Water Sanctum and focus highly on fighting capabilities."

"Yeah, it's a war dominated society. Every one is raised to be a potential soldier. I was no different. I spent three hundred years as a soldier."

He sighed heavily. "Well, we rebelled against Mulsae, the Water Master that was just here, and I was captured and Mulsae took me as his personal captive."

"Oh no," she comments.

"Yeah. I lived with Mulsae for over two years. I was at his side every moment of every day. I slept in his bed. I bathed next to him. He hand fed me. I knelt next to him during his meetings. Every moment of every day he was there."

"That's awful."

"And then out of the blue one day the other Sanctum Masters call for a summit because they think Mulsae is treating me as a slave."

"Wait... was that the summit from this week? It must be. The Sanctum Masters haven't gotten together in centuries."

"Yup, the summit was about me."

"No wonder all the Masters know you!"

"Yup. They ruled I was a slave and since slavery is illegal I was suddenly free to do and go anywhere I wanted."

"So how did you end up here?"

He slings his arm over his eyes and groans, "Because I'm a stupid brute."

"You keep calling yourself stupid, but I don't believe it."

"I am. I know nothing of how things work. I've never used a bank, never dealt with currency, never bought myself clothes. Someone said I was like a newborn with all the stuff I didn't know or understand."

"But you lived in Scaldmere your whole life."

"Yeah."

"So how could you be expected to know these things? That doesn't make you stupid. You're just from a different culture."

Damion's lips part. He's stunned.

A healer walks in, "I'm going to assess you and send in appropriate healers based on your injuries." Damion nods.

She starts with laying her healing hands on his head, "You have some fractures in your skull, and you must have a headache."

"You don't need to tell me every injury. I know it's extensive."

The healer smiles sadly, "Alright, I understand. I'll just assess and jot down notes as I go." The healer proceeds to lay her hands on Damion and write notes on a parchment when she finds an injury.

"Hopefully the new counselor will be more helpful than the last counselor," Elirick attempts at conversation again.

"Yeah," he sighs, "She said she'd spend the afternoon clothes shopping with me, but then bailed before I even purchased anything. Plus she just sent me to the bank all alone. Didn't even tell me where it was. I had to search the city by myself."

"That's awful. How could she do that to you?"

He shrugs, "Because I'm a stupid Emberan brute, maybe."

She taps his shoulder in light admonishment, "Stop saying that."

He shrugs, "I am the stupid brute who decided to go drinking and flying and then crash and break my wing grounding myself for a week." I'm the stupid brute who let a random man fuck me in the toileting chamber. I could have taken him down. Why didn't I? I'm so stupid. Stupid stupid stupid.

She rests a hand on his shoulder placatingly, "You were going through a tough time. Anyone would want to get drunk."

He sighs, "I should have just stayed in the palace."

"All alone?" He nods. "Who would want to sit around all alone?"

"It's not just me?"

"Not wanting to be alone? No. We're social creatures. We like company. We crave it."

"I've felt like I've been going crazy. I just can't be alone and bored any more. I don't even have any books to read at the palace. So I just sit there. Waiting. Bored. Alone."

"Ugh. That sounds like torture."

Damion huffs a laugh. He's familiar with all kinds of torture.

"I'm done with my assessment," the healer says, "I'm sending in three different specialists to work on you. They should start coming in shortly."

Damion nods, "Thanks."

"Of course," the healer says before leaving.

There's silence and then Damion whispers, "I'm not going crazy?"

"No, Damion," Elirick says softly, "It doesn't sound like it to me."

Damion looks over at her, "Thanks." She smiles.

"Hello, Damion," a healer comes in, "I'm here to work on your fractured--"

"No," Damion puts up a hand to interrupt, "I don't want to hear the list of injuries. Just go ahead."

The healer smiles with sad understanding, "I get it. Would you like me to tell the others the same?"

"Yes, please." The healer nods and gets to work. Soothing healing energy that feels wonderful enters his body. Damion sighs with contentment. Tension eases from his shoulders.

After a moment of silence Damion whispers, "I don't know what to do about Mulsae."

"He's the one who kept you prisoner for two years?" Damion nods. "And he's the one who was here arguing for you to have better care?" Damion nods again. "He seems to care a lot about you."

Damion lets loose a long sigh, "That's the problem. He hurt me. He tortured me. He humiliated me. He controlled my every moment. I hate him."

She sucks in a breath, "Really? But he seemed to care so much."

"I know!" he growls in frustration, "It drives me crazy! From day one! He violated me, he hurt me, then he gave me a massage!"

Elirick screws up her face in puzzled thought.

"He said I was his pet. Maybe he was training me like a dog. Beat me into submission, then lavish comfort on me like some beloved pet." He growls softly and clenches his fists.

"He is... That is..."

"Pretty fucked up," Damion finishes for her. She nods.

The healer interrupts, "I'm done with my portion. May you sit up, Damion? I'd like to help you put your arm in a sling." He sits up. The healer helps maneuver his right arm into a sling.

Continue reading: Fourth Day (3 of 6)
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