Edited by Iseul

Warning: casual mentions of rape, mentions of sexual content (non-explicit), bondage (illustrated)

Julian woke to a terrible scraping sound that reminded him of rust and iron. There was the scent of burning flesh and leather. A terrible pain in his right thigh flared due to something wound around old scars a bit too tightly.

The ache flourished and cold sweat beaded on his brows while nausea built up in his chest.

With a groan, dark lashes peeled open but all Julian could see were blurs of color. Dizzy, he tried to roll to his left side but the entire right side of his body was numb. And bound.

Fuck.

His arms were tied neatly behind his back. The rope looped downward to draw his feet upward into a hogtie. Even worse was the excessive amounts of rope that crisscrossed all over his body; from his chest to his neck and down to his thighs. Any little movement tightened the binds, making it extremely uncomfortable.

Why would everyone tie up a frail old man such as himself so securely!? When Julian secured the inquisitor with rope and cloth, he wasn’t even half as bad!

Julian took in a sharp intake of air squinted against the light, trying to judge the time of day from the level of brightness. It was probably noon.

He didn't need his vision to understand that the sound he was hearing was a blade being sharpened. There was a blur moving in front of him, seated at his desk.

"The silent and broody type, I take it?" Julian said dryly, his voice a little hoarse.

The scraping of metal stopped. The voice was lowly, eloquent, and perhaps a little sultry with that slight hint of a growl. It reminded Julian of the cheap titles the village ladies bought off peddlers for ridiculous prices. “Where are my clothes?”

Julian snorted haughtily. “So I’m right.”

There was a click of the tongue. “…Do you think this is funny?

"Yes, extremely hilarious. The patient that I save from the brink of death not only attacks me, but also binds me, and doesn't even follow the doctor's orders to stay sound and still in bed. And now he's demanding things from me as if he hadn't offended me enough."

A scoff, "I'm only returning the favor." His accent was almost oddly proper, despite the blunt and crass words. Julian recalled hearing such enunciation of certain vowels common within the Arcadian High Courts.

"If you're talking about the minor," Julian made sure to put emphasis on the word minor, "restraints, those were only there for my own safety. Did you really think that it's okay to tie up a poor little old man like this? This is bullying at its finest."

A pause. Silence once more.

The question came almost casually. “You’re a mage, aren't you?”

Julian’s heart skipped a beat. But he smirked, showing no signs of concern. Shamelessly, he spewed some nonsense to distract his annoying guest. “What makes you say that, son? I’m just a poor old man minding his own boring business. Say, can’t you untie me? Surely, this can’t be how you treat your savior, hm?”

The inquisitor, luckily, only snorted softly. He sounded neither alarmed nor particularly aggressive, merely…rude. Incredibly rude. "You talk like a child, even though you look old enough to be my father."

Julian made a constipated expression, something that was between an attempt to scold and looking pitiful. "Ha, ha, ha. Very hilarious. And despite my old age you have yet to show me even an ounce of respect. Tell me, is there anything I could do for you, young man, to get you to untie me? Would you like this elderly to grovel at your feet? Perhaps I shall sing you praises and write poetry of your gallant bravery? Or mayhaps I ought to introduce you to the village lassies, who will be ever eager to look upon you with dazzling starry eyes. What say you, son?"

"..." Julian could hear the chair move against the grain of his floor. The inquisitor rose from his seat and only needed two steps to loom over him. When Julian squinted upward all he saw was a dark menacing shadow. Julian really wished he could properly see this fucker’s face.

"Suck my dick." With the inquisitor's proper pronunciation and rounded vowels, it only made the crass request sound even more filthy.

"..." Julian's smile strained. "What was your name again?"

"Unimportant."

With the man's deadpan voice and blurry face, Julian didn't have an inkling about how serious he was being. This could be a bit dangerous.

Luckily, Julian was very good at spouting absurdities to buy time and distract over-eager fools. “Well, son, it seems like you know nothing of proper etiquette! If a man wishes to put his dick into another’s mouth, you should the very least offer your name first and foremost. It is only right, don’t you think?”

He tried a casual shrug, but with the restraints around his body, Julian only managed to wiggle pathetically, allowing the rope to rub against his sore right leg.

For a moment everything was still, no one uttered a word. Julian felt his heart race and his senses sharpen. He could hear the subtle rustle of fabric as the inquisitor bent down and reached toward him. A thumb brushed Julian’s earlobe, causing him to flinch before it traced downward to grab the rope that wound around his neck.

Ah.

Privately, Julian hoped that this young man wasn’t into any weird sex plays. He loathed imagining the stamina and brutishness of such a fellow.

Julian grinned. Perhaps to hide his anxiety, perhaps to silently laugh at the strange thought he had conjured. Without restraint, the doctor blabbered, “Listen to me now, you foolish boy, for I can assure you. Although you might believe that I am a great beauty, in truth, I am but a crippled old man. There are plenty of alluring village maidens frolicking about the herds of sheep. Trust me, they are prettier than what you'd expect from a little dead-end town like this. I can even introduce you to a few. What do you say, Louis?"

"Who in the Seven Realms is Louis supposed to be?" The inquisitor gripped the rope and yanked Julian forward. Julian could feel a warm breath against his face and he struggled not to cringe.

"Is it not your name? I'm sorry I didn't quite catch it last time. I was too busy being assaulted."

"It's Leonel."

"Leno?"

"Leonel."

"Laurence?"

"Leonel!"

"Stop shouting at me! I'm deaf and blind," Julian half-lied, "can't you be kinder to this old man? Is this how you treat your own father?"

"My father is dead."

“Hah!” Julian tossed his head back and cackled. “Now isn’t that a classic!”

He was given a short snort and was let go abruptly. Julian almost let out a sigh of relief. No weird sex play, or rape. Good, good.

Except he was still tied up. This was very inconvenient. "When are you going to untie me?"

"I was going to untie you earlier but you kept being annoying so I decided against it."

"What!? And here I thought I was going to get raped.” Julian squirmed and wiggled like an eel out of water, trying as he could to earn more attention. “Come back here! Untie me at once."

But the inquisitor was already moving away and walking back toward the desk. Julian was hopelessly ignored. "You have a lot of illegal wares in this pathetic hovel you call a home," Leonel pointed out.

If this weird young man wasn’t going to push the earlier mage accusation, Julian wasn’t that concerned. But even if he was, he probably would have run his mouth all the same. “This pathetic hovel has served me well over the years! And unlike someone else, I never had to deal with the displeasure of falling unconscious on the side of the road, and left to die. And death would surely have come, if not for a generous little old doctor who slaved to help me despite his disability."

"If you're trying to make me feel sorry for you, it's not working."

This was a conundrum! Julian was teetering on the edge of his patience. It didn't help that his right leg was hurting him more and more as time went on. And this stubborn idiot that called himself Leonel was still making himself at home in Julian's house. It was truly infuriating!

He needed to switch up tactics. Jutting out his bottom lip, Julian shamelessly whined, "Oh great inquisitor, please spare this pathetic doctor some sympathy. If you're going to execute me for owning all these illegal wares can't you do it quickly? Get it over with already?"

"No. I'd have to bring you in for a trial. It could take months before the final verdict."

That was right, Julian was no stranger to the procedure of a trial. Rather than justice, the entire process of a trial was often just an excuse for the inquisitors to inflict terror and torture on their prisoners to discourage the population from using magic or magical tools.

The Divine Light might hate the Old Regime of the Mage King and his all-powerful magic, but they sure adopted a lot of methods from him!

"I see that you are a heartless young man without a sliver of mercy," Julian accused. If he were truly brought back to the capital and had his identity uncovered, there would be a worse fate awaiting him than simple torture and burning at the stake.

"Maybe if you weren't so annoying, I would show you more mercy."

And this inquisitor was a brat as well.

In the end, Julian could do nothing but groan and bitch, wiggling pathetically on the cot that was supposed to be for Leonel. All the while the damned inquisitor had the galls to settle down in Julian's hammock.

Even if he couldn’t see properly, Julian recognized the telltale sway of his precious hammock. "That will aggravate your wounds, you know?"

"My wounds are fine," Leonel responded nonchalantly.

This brat was seriously heartless. Julian continued to assault the young inquisitor with annoying conversation until he grew tired and bored. If nothing else, this at least gave him an excuse to go back to sleep.

His limbs were really sore from the position he was tied in but eventually, fatigue overcame the discomfort and Julian fell back into slumber.