#thread: poenitentiam.

[bastardfae]

closed starter for @masterxtiernan

awaiting judgement for a crime he hadn’t committed wasn’t exactly how arnon had hoped for his evening to go. the trial had been nothing short of catastrophically awful in every sense imaginable. no matter how many times his father had attempted to warn him of the shortcomings of his viewpoints and his passion for verbalising them at every given opportunity, arnon hadn’t ever expected them to get him in this kind of trouble. he’d gotten far too comfortable with kaden’s occasional lectures and had grown to consider them the worst possible outcome. tiernan’s attack had altered such a perspective slightly. it had inflicted enough psychological damage to have him apprehensively visit ransom to try and plead for some kind – any kind – of protection following the incident, though unfortunately to no avail. and now he found himself here, waiting to see if his days were as numbered as they felt they were. his earlier heart-to-heart with kaden following his testimony had offered a brief reprieve from the agony of uncertainty but now that he’d been left alone with his thoughts, arnon struggled to see a way out of this that didn’t end in his execution.

the halfling sat bolt upright at the sound of someone approaching his cell once again, scooting as far back onto the object these freaks dared to call a bed as he physically could as he levelled a glare at the bars keeping him trapped. the sight that greeted him did little to soothe the unease that had made itself at home within him and arnon sneered at the all-too-familiar councilman in immediate disgust. “what now?” he spat, his eyes narrowing into a glare as the words left him. “what, the trial wasn’t enough for you? you come to gloat a little more? it wasn’t me, tiernan. i shouldn’t even be in here. whoever took a shot at you is still out there. why don’t you fuck off and go put some energy into finding the real moron behind all this shit?”

[bastardfae]

a wave of nausea washed over the halfling as the shadows enveloped them both. the memories of his last encounter with tiernan’s abilities still feeling more like a gaping wound than something permanently etched into his mind against his will. he didn’t want to be foolish enough to believe that he’d gotten away lightly last time but the lingering sense of dread that refused to budge suggested as much. something told him that things weren’t going to be any better this time around.

he struggled furiously against the shadows binding him in place. his expression instantly switched to one of pure anger as he glowered up at the councilman with his teeth bared in a defiant sneer. “you’re even more of a fucking moron than i thought if you really believe i’m gonna be staying here.” realistically, it was obvious that escape was impossible. there was no way he’d be able to get out of this, willingly or otherwise, but that wasn’t to say that he wasn’t willing to try at some point. tearing his gaze away from tiernan to observe the suite, arnon scoffed at the new home the councilman seemed hellbent on familiarising him with. “you probably think this tawdry little cum shack of a suite is impressive, right? looks gaudy to me. should’ve got someone with taste on board for the interior design. i’ve seen barns nicer than this place.”

In Tiernan's opinion, Arnon had made his own bed and now he truly had to lie in it. Perhaps he was being harsh, but it was a win/win outcome for the ghoul. He won the trial and he got a slave out of it. It would serve as an example to others who dared to cross any of the Councilmen. They were in charge and they rarely didn't get exactly what they wanted. Tiernan didn't want Arnon dead, not at all. He just wanted Arnon. He smiled at the halfling's stubbornness and the way he tried to free himself from the ghoul's grip.

"Sweetheart, you really don't have a choice in the matter. You really think Kaden has any authority when it comes to Council or castle matters?" He scoffed. "You are mine, and death is not an option for you I'm afraid." Tiernan roughly pushed Arnon's face away from him as he pulled back. "I'll take him from here, gentlemen," the ghoul said, looking over his shoulder at the guards before black shadows started to surround both himself and Arnon. Within seconds they appeared in Tiernan's suite, shadow's still wrapped around the halfling's limbs to keep him in place on his knees on the floor of the lounge. "Welcome to your new home, Arnon. I'm so sure you're going to love it here."

[bastardfae]

killed just now and disposed of, huh? despite himself, arnon scoffed in bitter amusement. so they got outta this easy enough, but he didn’t? the halfling was ready to interject but as tiernan continued, the words died in his throat. whilst he’d made no real attempt to prove his innocence to an undeniable degree, arnon still failed to see how he could truly be considered as a conspirator in any of this. he hadn’t imagined his inability to burn his father’s letters to result in an outcome like this and it was only now that he realised the severity and importance of abbán’s insistence that he do so. it took a moment for tiernan’s words to properly register, the halfling’s brow furrowing into a sharp frown as he tried to make sense of it all. “this better be some kind of sick joke,” he mumbled after a beat of silence, cutting his stare away from tiernan to try and ground his attention on something, anything, other than the councilman. death was the preferable option over perpetual servitude, least of all to someone like him. there had to be some kind of way out of this, some loophole, something. all the others that had been put on trial before him had faced the threat of execution and had come damn close to it, but this wasn’t an outcome arnon had known to exist. 

he winced involuntarily as tiernan’s grip registered, his gaze flickering back to meet the ghoul’s to scowl at him to the best of his ability despite the rising panic blossoming within him. it was a wasted effort, but arnon didn’t hesitate to attempt to shove tiernan’s hand away, squirming in his grasp to try and wriggle out of it. if the cell had felt small before, it felt positively microscopic now and all arnon wanted was to go home. he didn’t want to be here, didn’t want anything to do with any of the bastards above, nor the one before him. nothing about this was right. “lemme talk to kaden about this. i’m not going anywhere with you until then.” it was probably way out of kaden’s jurisdiction but that didn’t stop the need for a familiar face to be there for him through this feeling like any less of a necessity. the brief exchange they’d shared earlier had helped to reassure him slightly, but arnon needed him now more than ever. there had to be something he could do, surely? “can’t you just kill me instead? wouldn’t that be easier? i’ll do it myself if i have to.”

During the trial, Tiernan had briefly wondered whether or not he was actually going to win, so he was relieved when the guilty verdict came in. What had put a twist on the events of the day was the actual killer -- or perhaps one of them -- had broken into the courtroom and was immediately taken down. It had put a slight kink in Tiernan's accusation, but the guilty verdict still stood. The Council weren't taking any risks, and it was clear that Arnon was someone with a short fuse and a rather large negative opinion when it came to the Council members. He still could have been part of whatever plan was brewing; Tiernan very much doubted the perpetrator had acted completely alone.

The Irishman made his way to Arnon's holding cell, pleased that his alternative punishment hadn't been objected to. The guards opened the door and Tiernan stepped inside, standing over the halfling who had pressed himself as far back as he could, clearly not wanting to be anywhere near anyone. "Oh, the person who took a shot at me is dead. Killed just now and disposed of, but we aren't convinced you weren't involved somehow. So, we've decided that you will belong to me. There are some formalities to put in place before I can outright claim you, but you will be a slave and I will be renting you on a permanent basis until I can claim you," Tiernan explained with a smile. "And we're going to have so much fun together," he added, bending down to take firm hold of Arnon's jaw, tilting his head up towards him. "You ready to see your new home?"