Chapter 101: Twice in a row? Am I...a Chosen One?
Cass couldn’t describe the feeling that filled his chest at the sight of what just happened.
He felt short of breath, shock tingling all the way down to his finger tips. He looked around him, feeling as if he could barely move his body.
This was true, of course, but the shock was so great that he couldn’t even register what had happened to him prior to his moment.
So much so that he tried to get up, and he fell to the floor, shocked that he’d even done that.
"My Lord? MY LORD! Are you alright?!" Sam’s voice grew extra loud, and Cass had to shake himself, trying to push himself up with his hands but he wasn’t able to. His left hand wasn’t working, and his right hand was sore. Both were swollen, and as Cass stared down at his now clean hands, he was stuck with a sudden realisation.
How the fuck had he done that? Could he do that again?
"Sam." Cass called, his voice raspy and sounded like shit.
"Yes, my Lord?" Sam replied, sounding relieved that he could even hear Cass speak.
"We’re going to have to call a Doctor." Cass told him quietly, and silence greeted his words.
"May I...May I enter, my Lord? Byron will remain away from the door." Sam asked tentatively, and Cass glanced around him. He had not wanted them to see the state he was in, but there were some things that he couldn’t handle on his own.
He felt, even though he was naked and on the floor, the rest of it had been cleared up. He had a feeling Sam had never encountered Lord Blackburn like this before, but there was nothing he could do about this.
Unlike Lord Blackburn, he hadn’t been dealing with this for over a decade. This was his first time. He thought he was holding up pretty well, given everything that he had gone through. Cass let out a sigh from his heart, his head throbbing from the new memories, waking up from a fucking nightmare that was proven as reality, and now he was waltzing into having someone else attempting to clean him up after...
After whatever the hell that had been.
"I...alright." Cass sounded defeated to his own ears. He heard the key slide into the lock and turn. The door was unlocked, and Sam spoke low enough to Byron that Cass couldn’t hear his words distinctly, before the door opened.
Cass was staring at it, waiting for Sam to see what he was walking into.
Despite everything being cleared up, it was clear that...exactly what had happened, had happened. Sam slammed the door closed behind him immediately, a look of shock, but also resignation crossing his face.
The fact that Sam wasn’t absolutely horrified told Cass that he, the man who had been serving him since he’d arrived, and since Lord Blackburn had arrived here, knew that something like this was going on.
"How many people know?" Cass asked, his voice hoarse. Sam’s gaze darted towards him, before a true look of horror crossed his face. Sam had only been looking around the room first, but when his gaze fell on Cass, who was on the floor, dried blood around his nipples, cock, and a few other places, his wrists swollen, Sam rushed to him.
"My Lord!" Sam cried, horrified. Cass swallowed, the worry in Sam’s expression sobering. He probably looked awful. Cass didn’t even want to know how pale and ill he probably looked.
"How many people know, Sam?" Cass repeated, a little firmer and Sam froze. Sam came to the horrifying realisation that Cass, no, Lord Blackburn, hadn’t remembered what this was like.
Sam raised a trembling hand to his mouth, his big, brown eyes watering but he fought the tears. He took in Cass’ sallow skin, the blood that was dried on his bare skin, and let out a shaky exhale.
"J-Just me. I-I...I’m the only one you’ve ever let know about this. I...I tried to prod Sir Forsythe about this before...he just assumed you took this week off for...some other kind of personal reason." Sam’s lips and hands shook as he glanced around, before he moved, grabbing a shirt and shakily wrapped it around Cass’ shoulders. "D-Did you..." Sam bit his lip, silencing his words. Cass stared at him emotionlessly and Sam made a soft noise. "Did you not remember this?" Sam asked quieter and Cass let out a long, low sigh.
"I remembered after." Cass told him and Sam dropped his gaze.
"You didn’t..." Sam’s eyes widened, before his expression grew dark. "No, you did let me know, I just never picked up. I am sorry my Lord. If I had been more observant, more aware. This is..." Sam’s eyes watered more as he looked over Cass’ body. There wasn’t a hint of sexual interest, only concern and horror. "I will make sure I am discreet while I call the Doctor. I promise that you’ll be okay this time." Sam whispered.
Cass stared at the man, who shook with worry and concern for him and sighed again.
"It’s...alright, Sam. I’ll be better for the next one." Cass told him and Sam made another noise.
"Do you...do you know the cause?" it was clear that Sam had always wanted to ask this and Cass, now equipped with all of the knowledge that Lord Blackburn had about these incidents, let out a soul weary sigh. He stared down at his swollen hands and let out a dry laugh.
"Well, there are a couple of theories, but none that I’ve actually looked into properly. I think, now that I’ve experienced it for the first time again, that I must. I cannot continue to live like this." Cass muttered, speaking for both him, and Lord Blackburn. Sam nodded sharply, biting his lip again.
"Let me...go get you a change of clothes first. No, shall I change the sheets? Or go get the Doctor? Oh, I don’t know what to do." Sam sounded hopeless and Cass decided to give the man who cared so deeply for him a break.
"Sam?" Cass called and Sam snapped his attention towards him, his expression lost. "It’s okay if the Doctor isn’t discreet. Send Byron or Sir Forsythe, whoever you think will get it done faster. My suggestion would be Sir Forsythe, since I think he knows the town better and can for sure read. Byron can act as a temporary guard since he’s big enough to scare most people off. Clothes first, and then I need to go to my office to receive treatment. While that is happening, Byron can stand by while you take care of...this." Cass looked around the room, taking in the torn sheets, the trail of clothing and mess that still existed without the evidence of everything else.
Hearing Cass’ orders seemed to calm Sam down. He needed him to tell him what to do, and Cass felt a bit more like himself after speaking too. Sam nodded.
"I will...yes, I can do that. I’ll let Byron know the plan." Sam said, getting to his feet. "Shall I help you into a chair at the very least, my Lord? Remaining on the floor cannot be good for you." Cass nodded at Sam’s suggestion, and Sam glanced around before he pulled over a nice, gaudy black, silver and red cushioned chair with gilded armrests.
Cass stared at it, noticing how high it was off the ground but Sam didn’t flinch.
"I can’t use my hands, Sam." Cass warned and Sam flinched.
"Should I feed you some healing tonic before I get you dressed?" He asked and Cass sighed. His gaze slid to the little tin that he’d asked to have in here with him. It wasn’t until after he’d seen the memories he understood why.
Lord Blackburn had used pain as a way to fight the other urges, so the tonic was important to that. If he hadn’t had it, it would not be a viable option to him. Cass grimly frowned, before he nodded.
"We don’t have-" Cass stopped speaking, remembering what he’d done just a moment ago. "Sam, bring over the jug." Sam, who had been about to help him up into the chair paused, before rushing over to the bed and grabbing the empty jug. Cass’s throat still hurt from all the moaning and he presumed, screaming, he’d done over the last five days.
In fact, it sounded like he was losing his voice the longer he spoke, but he didn’t care. He was far more interested in what he was about to do. If it worked, he would be ecstatic.
Sam held the jug before him, anxious as Cass moved his left hand until it draped over the jug.
Worried that this wasn’t going to work, Cass licked his lips nervously and stared at the jug before he thought, fresh drinking water.
For a moment, nothing happened, and then like a tap turning on, water poured from his hand and Cass felt his lips turn up quietly, pure joy filling his expression after such a fucking nightmare had happened to him.
Sam gasped as the jug filled up, his gaze going to Cass, before back to the jug. Cass had been so excited about doing the magic, he didn’t think about how to stop it, so when the jug began to reach the top, both Sam and Cass panicked before Cass slapped his right hand over his left.
A few sputtering, muffled water droplets splattered over the two of them before it halted. Cass let out an excited laugh.
"It...it worked." Cass muttered, shocked, but his lips wouldn’t stop turning up. Sam, also exhilarated, realised, once more, that his Lord had kept a lot from him. His excited expression faded quickly, falling into a somber, more subdued expression when faced with the pure, absolute happiness that his Lord exhibited.
"Alright, my Lord. Let’s get you up into the chair, shall we?"