Promising Submission

Nathanial sat at Micah’s feet and watched the show. The British man had come into the office and played them all. The leopard had sensed that the man was more then what he seemed but was still shocked when the mask had dropped. Nathanial watched as the man marginalized Anita as a threat and said that breaking their bonds, supposedly an impossible feat, was no problem at all, and was suspicious. When he stood up and released his power, relaxing as if wearing too-tight clothing, Nathanial had gasped. The man was more powerful then Anita could hope to be, confirming his suspicions. As the power washed over him, Nathanial felt warm and safer then he’d felt in a long time, as it slithered along his spine and was very arousing. The man had obviously heard his gasp and turn to smirk at him. His gaze was possessive and hungry, like a child who’d found a toy they were not leaving the store without. It made him shiver.



Nathanial watched the man walk over to Anita and found himself worried for her despite her controlling the vampires. She was a controlling woman, and had control of the dead. It was in her nature to use what she had to get what she wanted. It was one of the reasons Nathanial had asked her to let him be her lover, she would do whatever she wanted to keep happy. Nathanial had hoped that she would use that ruthlessness to protect him. She had, to a point.



When the British native had asked how many she had forced to love her, Nathanial felt his heart stop. Although he had approached her originally out of need for protection rather then affection or the like, he had grown to love her desperately. The idea that it was an implanted emotion shook him to the core.



While Asher and Jean-Claude argued in French about what Nathanial could only guess, he tried to determine if his love was false. When had he started loving her? He couldn’t remember. It seemed to just happen. One day he was using his body to get her to protect him, and the next he couldn’t leave her presence for want of her. He felt like crying. She was the first person he’d ever loved. He’d never trusted enough to actually love another, and she had made him. He had been saving his love, as a gift, and she’d taken it from him. He felt a hand on his head and looked up into his Nimir-Raj’s concerned eyes. He realized he’d been whimpering and looked around to see what he’d missed.



The British man was eyes locked with Richard and Asher had blood tear stains on his face, while Jean-Claude and Damian looked broken. Nathanial wanted to go to Damian and have the vampire hold him. Damian had been his rock through all this, the sight of him broken was almost more then he could stand. But before he could do that the dark haired brit had finished with Richard, leaving him struggling not to cry or break something, and started toward him. He got down on his knees in front of him, and Nathanial was terrified into stillness. He had no idea what was going to happen. He wasn’t paying attention before, but anything that left Damian and Richard that broken up was not something he could handle.



When the green eyed man asked if Nathanial wanted to “see what I see” Nathanial nodded more out of general acquiescence then because he wanted to. When Nathanial found himself standing in a room with huge screen playing his memories he realized the man was inside his mind. He freaked out. This man could damage him so bad that no one would recognize him. He’d survived all sorts of physical and emotional torture, but this could be so simple and devastating and Nathanial couldn’t stop it.



He calmed down to whispers that he was not here to break him and that he wasn’t angry that everything would be okay. The man asked him “if you want I will return you to your conscious mind and continue without you” but Nathanial shook his head. If the man was going to hurt him he at least wanted to be aware of it.



The man asked him to think about his connection to Anita. Nathanial hadn’t a clue how to do that so he just thought of her. He was horrified to find that the screens around him started playing all his worst memories of her, yelling at him; telling him he was worthless and that no one could love him; that his only usefulness was in his body. The man didn’t seem to judge him although he did seem angry, and he was told that he was doing it wrong. The man instructed him to think about the connection of what it felt like to talk to her mentally. Nathanial thought about the times he’d talked to her or when she was pulling his energy and was shocked to see behind the memories of these things, a dark black goopy tunnel. The man raised a hand and then snapped it into a fist, and the tunnel closed. Nathanial heard it snap, but then felt his connection with Damian close. NO. That link was his only hold on sanity sometimes. He had no one and nothing now. He was useless and without the link Domain had no reason to continue to help him hold it together.



He looked up at the man horrified. “Don’t worry kitten, it was supposed to happen, she was the tip of your triangle and holding you both together, without her you are free.” Nathanial mumbled, “I am alone,” The man sighed and tightened his grip. “You can be mine if you’d like. I was thinking about asking for you as payment for freeing you all.” Nathanial looked at him again, he wanted him. Why? He was useless. “Yes kitten, I wanted you before and I want you now, and I’ll want you when were done here, but first I want to show you what her influence looks like, and how much of what you feel is fake.”



Nathanial followed him but didn’t know what he was looking for. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. A small unused part of him told him that he wanted to know how bad his only gift to give had been misused. It was the only way to fix it.



The man stopped at a warm white ball. Parts of it were covered in what Nathanial likened to red paint, stoping the glow in parts. Nathanial was furious. She had been controlling his actions and destroying the only part of him that was truly his. How dare she!



The man beside him nodded and then threw his arm out in a wide sweeping gesture and all the red paint disappeared. Nathanial took a deep breath and tried to figure out what felt different. He followed the man out of his mind and continued to follow him to his chair, only half aware of his actions. He heard his name hissed but didn’t pay any attention. He felt freer, but also empty. He didn’t love Anita now. In fact he was finding out that she had been mistreating him. He would not have agreed to the many of the things they did in the bed room or the fact that she forced him to only serve her and not have any other relationships. It had hurt him before but he’d never considered leaving her. Now when he thought about leaving it didn’t hurt at all. He felt nothing for her. The man above him released his power and arched his back and moaned. It felt better then a vampire bite, all consuming pleasure. He felt the hand in his hair tighten and was grateful for the anchor. Eventually he got used to it and could look around him. He heard Jean-Claude say that the man was awakening the Ardeur and wanted to leave. There was an unconscious Anita in this room and the ardeur would wake her up. He was not having sex with that woman. Never again.





He shouldn’t have worried. The man pulled his power back in and aimed a knife at her head. He paused for objections but when none came he let it fly. Nathanial was impressed with his aim. Knives were hard to throw accurately. He watched as his new master bowed his head after he killed her. Nathanial wondered what he was doing.



Nathanial followed the man when he got up saying he was going to ‘take his payment and go’ privately he sighed and wondered if this was going to be worse then Anita. It didn’t seem like anyone would be able to stop this man. Nathanial told him self that he would just be the best sex-slave he could and hope for the best. He was shocked when his Nimir-Raj protested at his leaving. He knew his place and so when his new master pulled him to him, Nathanial molded to his side. Why would Micah not want him to leave, he had no use for him. He was very puzzled.



After the man had pacified Micah they wandered for a bit. Nathanial could tell the man was lost but wasn’t sure if he could even talk. He’d been given no instruction. The leopard knew he was being more submissive then normal, but not only had he gone through a horrible revelation, he had a new master. He felt like he was hanging on to the ledge above the abyss by only his fingers. That there was no one to pull him up and he was tiring. So out of control. He was not about to make this worse by making his master mad. It was safer this way until he learned what was expected of him. His master sighed and turned to him. Nathanial thought he was going to ask him for instructions and so was shocked when the man took him in his arms and then his world constricted to a small point.



When he got his breath back and the world stopped spinning he looked up into amused green eyes. “Ah sorry about that I should have warned you but I was getting impatient so I apparated us here. This is my home.” Nathanial didn’t know what apparating was but he understood that the man expected him to look around and then say how lovely it was. So that’s what he did. He was surprised however to find that he did indeed like it. The room they were in was done in dark blues and had a warm fireplace blazing and had dark leather furniture with antique accents.



Nathanial, unsure what to do now, decided it was a good time to start proving to his new master that he was skilled. He began to undress the taller man, but was stopped by hands on his wrists. He looked up into a sad face. “Kitten you don’t have to do that.” Nathanial was confused, what else was he supposed to do? He could bake something for him, but Anita was right, all he was good for was sex…well that and stripping.



The man pulled him to the couch and Nathanial sat on his lap. “When I said I wanted you for payment I didn’t mean like this.” Nathanial was confused and so didn’t say anything. “I only said it that way because I know how Vampire’s work. I knew you were important to someone in that room or you wouldn’t have been there. That meant I had to have permission. Since I don’t have any plans on owing any vampires any favors I decided that claiming you as payment was the only way to get you here with out any strings.” Nathanial looked at him and leaned into the hand that was running up and down his spine. What did the man want from him then? Softly he asked, “So, what do you want then?” The man smiled at him and Nathanial felt himself blush. “Well I was hoping for a long term relationship.” Green eyes filled with humor and he winked, “Here was my plan. I’d like for you to stay with me for a few days while we get to know each other, then if you agree, I’d like you to move in here.” Mentally Nathanial already decided he would, he had no where else to go anyway, but the man continued. “If you’d like to stay then we’ll need to work up a contract for your safety.”



“Contract?” Nathanial whispered. The man smiled at him again and Nathanial’s blush grew. This man had a strange effect on him. “Yes love,” then the man blushed, “I have rather demanding tastes and I don’t want you to be harmed. You will write up a list of all the things you need in a relationship and a few safe words, and I will write down what I require in a relationship. Then we will compare and discuss, and make a final contract. It will be magical so I cannot accidentally break it.”



They sat there for a while as Nathanial absorbed this information. He’d never even heard of something like this. It made him feel better but he was ashamed by some of the things he wanted, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to write down. And what if he couldn’t fulfill the things the man needed, would the man get rid of him for someone else? He looked up at the man to see what he was thinking but he was looking at the fire and absently playing with Nathanial’s hair. “Master?” his head seemed to swivel he turned it so fast, “No kitten, not master, if you want something like that we’ll put it in the contract but for now let’s just call each other by our first names.” He smiled at Nathanial and seemed to patiently wait for him to call him his first name, but Nathanial didn’t know it. He hadn’t been paying attention. He flushed hard and looked away, whispering, “I don’t know your name.” A tear slipped out his eye, he couldn’t even do the first thing he was asked; useless. He felt a hand under his chin and his head was turned to look at the man, who was smiling. “Its Harry, I’m sorry I didn’t’ introduce myself,” the man, Harry, laughed, “What a night you’ve had, kidnapped by a nameless man.” Nathanial smiled a small smile and hesitantly leaned against the man whose lap he was on.



He’d had a hard night and found himself drifting off before the fire. He heard a voice say, “Come on kitten I’ll show you where your going to sleep, you’ve had a hard night.” Nathanial was a little angry at himself, he’d just met this man and he’d nearly fallen asleep on him.



He was led to a decent sized room decorated in browns and gold’s, with a queen sized been with curtains. “If you need anything and I mean anything I’m across the hall and you can just come in.”



Nathanial nodded and whispered goodnight, he left the door open because it wasn’t his house and he didn’t deserve even the implication of privacy. He braided his hair, stripped down to his boxers and crawled into bed. He lay there thinking about the day, and tried to access Damian through his link. He jolted when he couldn’t find it, and then remembered that he was alone now. Everything seemed to slam into him at once and he started sobbing. He had nothing. He was nothing. He cried because of what Anita had done. He cried because he was afraid. He cried for so many reasons he couldn’t catch all of them.



He woke up in the morning nestled in Micah’s warm embrace. He breathed in deep, but then froze. That wasn’t Micah’s scent. He opened his eyes to see the man from yesterday, Harry he reminded himself, sleeping with him. He looked around. Yep, still in the room given to him. He shifted slightly. Yep, he still had his boxers on. He didn’t really mind. It was nice have a warm body to wake up with, and its not like he had any rights anyway, he just wanted to remember what happened.



He looked at the man and watched him wake up. Green eyes opened, and he yawned wide before looking over at Nathanial and once he saw him awake he smiled, “Good morning kitten, are you feeling better?” Nathanial nodded still confused. It must have showed on his face because Harry explained, “I heard you crying and since your door was open I assumed you wanted me to hear so I came in and held you. You fell asleep. I take it you don’t remember.” Nathanial flushed shamed, that wasn’t why he’d left the door open and he said that. Harry laughed, “Its okay Kitten I liked sleeping with you.” Nathanial narrowed his eyes slightly before saying with a small amount of heat, “That’s not why I left the door open.” Then he realized what he was doing and whispered, “I’m not like that.” “Like what kitten” the man asked. Nathanial didn’t want to answer because he wasn’t sure what he meant, so he said, “I left it open because its not my house, or my room, and so I shouldn’t bar your way should you want to come use me.”



Harry’s eyes widened and then narrowed. Nathanial tried to make himself small and bared his neck. He wasn’t sure what he’d said wrong. He heard a sigh and Harry started petting his braid. “I gave you this room to use as yours while you’re here, if you want privacy, close the door. It doesn’t matter to me; although it pleased me to be able to hear when you were upset.” He sighed and then sat up, “I’m going to go get some breakfast would you like to join me?” Nathanial nodded Harry got up and threw him the robe on the bathroom door. “I’ll send Winky for some clothes in a minute. I’d send Dobby but he has absolutely no fashion sense and you’d end up wearing something completely ridiculous.”



Breakfast was pleasant although Nathanial still didn’t know what his place was. He answered all Harry’s questions about where he lived, his job, his hobbies and the like. Mostly Harry just told stories which encouraged Nathanial to relax and to laugh. There was some excitement when Dobby brought in the food, and Nathanial ran to hide behind Harry. Harry had seemed both pleased that he’d hidden behind him instead of say.. the couch and unhappy that he’d felt the need to hide at all.



Their morning was interrupted though by Nathanial’s phone. It was brought into the room by another house elf, who was holding it like she expected it to bite her. Nathanial had looked to Harry for permission to answer it. “Who is it?” Nathanial looked at the screen, “Micah” he answered. Harry gave a wave although he didn’t seem happy.



“Hello?”



“Nathanial! Are you okay I’ve been calling all morning? You didn’t come home last night.”



“Yea, I’m sorry we were eating breakfast, and I’m going to be staying here for a few days.”



“What? Did he hurt you? Did he force you to do anything? Tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.”



Nathanial flushed, upset, “Nimir-Raj, please,”



Micah just ranted about how he knew he shouldn’t have let him leave with him and ordered Nathanial to tell him where he was. Before he could though Nathanial felt Harry touch his shoulder. He looked up to see Harry with his hand out and his face set in an angry coldness.



He put the phone up to his ear and his eyes filled with rage, “Annoying Leopard. I told you not to contact us for another two weeks. Nathanial is mine. You have no claim on him anymore. If he comes to the pard for the full moon or even for pard business it will be because he has my permission. Do not attempt to contact him before two weeks are up or you will not like the consequences.” He hung up the phone and looked at Nathanial. “Sorry about that kitten. I lost my temper.” Nathanial nodded with wide eyes and watched Harry move his chair to settle it right in front of him. He wasn’t sure if he should be upset or not. No one had ever threatened another on his behalf. Sure he had said that he couldn’t be apart of the pard anymore, but he had also taken the phone and dealt with the issue. He could have left Nathanial to flounder and laughed at how weak he was like Anita had done. The pard had never been very nice to him anyway. They couldn’t and wouldn’t protect him and since he was the lowest so to speak, and ‘shit rolls down hill’ and needless to say he wasn’t well liked because he was the Nimir-Ra’s favorite.



Nathanial looked at Harry and saw that he was looking faintly apologetic. He decided to be happy. In the past 24 hours this man who he didn’t know had freed him from Anita’s influence, given him back his free will, held him while he cried, been completely honest with him, and now he had protected him when he was upset, and all without demanding anything from him. He smiled at Harry and Harry smiled back looking relieved.



So far things were looking up.