Luck in the collar 1
The sudden impact of his back against the stone wall took his breath away. Shane coughed loudly and grabbed his chest, where Nielle just roughly kicked him. He gave him a displeased look and watched as the door to the underground room slammed shut. It wasn´t as big as yesterday's red torture room, it looked more like a classic part of the dungeons, used for interrogation.
There were shackles hanging on all the walls, in the center stood a fairly well-equipped iron table, to the right he saw a fireplace with all kinds of tools and opposite several arranged shelves with a number of unpleasant-looking instruments.
Nielle didn't speak at first, in fact he didn't even speak when they met in the city, and he just let him be seized and returned to the palace with him. Even now he didn't look like he wanted to hear his explanation. He slowly approached Shane standing by the wall and measured him with his dark eyes until Shane got the impression that he should say something himself first.
"Aren't you exaggerating?" he asked.
"You haven't seen me exaggerate yet," Nielle informed.
"You didn't mention that I wasn't allowed to look around town and buy a few things... so you're exaggerating," he clarified.
"Looking around town," Nielle smiled, "a nice name for going around thirty-four businesses where you only bought junk."
Surprised at how quickly Nielle found out everything, Shane hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I've never been to the capital, I was just curious."
"And you won't be going anytime soon," Nielle pointed out, "Anyway, since I don't want to waste my time questioning the staff at thirty-four establishments, I suggest you tell me yourself what you did at them and how your meetings went." he said.
"I went to the bank to get some money since I got robbed yesterday and I doubt you'll give me money for personal stuff...then I went to buy some, I don't know what meetings you're talking about," he lied. He had no doubt that Nielle knew that he met someone, but that didn't change the fact that he didn't intend to reveal anything.
"Alright, I'll interrogate them all," he said, shoving Lacrisan roughly, "in case you won't decide to tell me yourself in the next few moments." he clarified.
"I have nothing to say," Shane dismissed.
"As you wish," Nielle commented, taking a step closer to him, „I think you need to be tamed, the level of your infinite audacity is starting to piss me off." he pitched.
"I've been here for a day, you don't have much patience," Shane said.
"I don't need to have it, no one dares to provoke...everyone knows why," he laughed and slowly reached out his hands to Shane, roughly grabbed him by the top of his new robe.
Shane grabbed his hands violently and tried to argue, "And don't you think this is rude?"
"I'm going to punish you," Nielle declared, grabbing one of his wrists roughly, "besides, just for how disrespectful you speak to me, you deserve a public flogging." he pressed Shane's hand against the wall with a rough thud. Before he could react, he snapped his wrist into one of the shackles and skilfully grabbed his other hand, which the Shane already tried to defend. However, he failed, Nielle was experienced in the quick-draw and Shane didn't even have time to do anything when his hands were useless.
Nielle walked over to a nearby chain and used it to pull Shane's arms up. Lacrisan blinked in surprise as he hadn't expected to be put at a disadvantage right away. However he didn't plan to fight back too much as he didn't expect to get away with it unpunished. Also he wasn't afraid of anything Nielle could do to his body and the only thing he didn't want was to stay in the dungeon for a long time.
"However, if you tell me what your true goal was today, I'll be nice and you won't suffer the consequences." Nielle walked over to his body and opened his robes a little more, giving him access to his entire bare chest. He pulled out a bag of gold from an inner pocket that Shane got, "I don´t believe you were just after the money." he laughed and tucked the pouch close to him.
Shane frowned in displeasure and said, "I didn't know I couldn't have my own money. You don't have anything like that in your rules, so why are you taking them from me?" he didn't understand.
"Because I can," he smiled softly and touched Shane's chest, running his fingers over his finely defined muscles to his neck and roughly cupped it in his palm, "if you want it back, you need to start behave better."
"I don't think I'm being rude," he remarked.
"I see that words don't work for you." Nielle laughed and sighed deeply. He looked at Shane for a moment, clutching his neck tightly and staring into his bright eyes before adding, "We're going to have some fun." he stated and let go of his neck.
Shane watched as he walked over to a nearby tool table, but instead of grabbing one of the iron tools, he bent down to the drawer below.
"I haven't pull it out in a while, but I used to enjoy it with you kind when I was younger," he remarked, "I think it's time to brush off the old habits." he laughed.
Shane watched in confusion as Nielle bent under the table and pulled out a pair of clear crystal stones, "What habits?" he didn't understand.
"I don't know if you remember, maybe you've heard it, maybe not, but it's always most effective for your kind...and I have the impression that I have to try harder with you, otherwise we won't get along. " he pulled out something else from under the table that Shane couldn't see.
An uneasy tension filled Shane, but try as he might to see what Nielle was holding, he couldn't identify it, so he just waited for prince to approach him. The moment Nielle turned around again and took a few steps towards him, Shane's eyes fell on the thick piece of metal. He didn't understand what it was for a moment before the prince was close enough and gently waved the iron collar in front of his eyes as if he couldn't wait to put it on him.
Shane blinked in surprise, "A collar? I'm not an animal," he declared.
Nielle laughed lightly, "You really don't know what this is? Your government has gone to great lengths to make it illegal in Rinsel. But in reality they only think they have made it illegal." he chuckled, waving his collar smugly in front of Shane's pupils as if waiting for him to remember something.
Shane hesitated for a moment, as if he wasn't sure if his feeling was right or not. But when he caught sight of the niche on the edge of the collar, for the stone to be inserted, his stomach lurched violently at the vivid memory.
"Oh, do you recognize it?" Nielle noticed the change in his face and slowly walked closer to him, "I don't know what you call it, we call it a Lucky collar... because it brings us Luck by purifying." he laughed.
Shane didn't even look at Nielle. He was just staring at the piece of metal, which he didn't understand he didn't recognize right away. He backed away in alarm, even though he really had nowhere to go.
"I'm glad you remembered...it works better if the person knows what I'm talking about," Nielle joked, opening the collar, allowing Shane to see the interlocking symbols carved into the inner side.
"Black..." the word came out of Shane automatically as he momentarily forgot who and where he was.
"Ah, yes...Black collars, I know," Nielle remembered, "they are said to be inhumane, your king took a lot of work to ban them here," he said, "it worked," he laughed, "fortunately, your kind has no way of knowing if it´s actually being followed here."
Shane glared at Nielle. He opened his mouth slightly in an attempt to say something, but nothing came out, so he just closed it slowly looking at the terrifying instrument in his hands. He really didn't expect to ever meet this thing in this country.
"But if you don't know exactly how it works and you're still trying to be disobedient, I'll explain," Nielle said, picking up one of the crystal stones, "it's not at all as unbearable as your people tell, but maybe it is when you're not used to it," he laughed, "after all, none of you have ever experienced what it's like to suffocate in your own bad luck," he stated, gripping the translucent crystal tightly in his palm, making it changed to black one in a moment, "that's why I think it's very beneficial to show you that ugly feeling." he laughed and gently waved a stone filled with his own bad luck, which the Rinselans always had an abundance of, and smiled softly.
Shane stared with genuine fear at Nielle's palm as he inserted the black stone into the hollow of the collar and lit the markings on the inner side as if he had lit them on fire.
Nielle moved closer to Shane's body and lightly touched his chest, causing Lacrisan to jerk his neck to the side in terror, trying to get away from him.
"You don't want to?" Nielle relished in his objection, "You shouldn't have been rude then." he declared, bringing the collar gently against his skin.
Taking a panicked breath, Shane tried to free himself from the shackles, which held him tight. He jerked his arms, which he couldn't move much above his head, and stepped to the side with his legs in an attempt to prevent Nielle from putting the collar on him. However, he had no way, he didn't know how to prevent it, so at the last moment, as he almost touched him with the iron, he kicked forward violently.
However, Nielle expected a similar reaction and simply caught his kick. He pushed his thigh to the side and got between his legs with his whole body, expertly immobilizing Shane.
"Are you afraid, Lacrisan?" Nielle laughed amused.
Shane looked to the side for a moment before moving his dilated pupils to Nielle right in front of him, "I-I didn't do anything to deserve this," he blurted out after a moment as if he didn't know what to say, "why are you doing this to me?" he snapped the irons.
A satisfied smile spread across Nielle's face as he heard the beautiful fear in Shane's voice, "You pissed me off, that´s why," he said, "I told you to be obedient...you weren't." he clarified, lightly touching Shane's neck, making Lacrisan wince.
"I...I-I will be," Shane blurted out without thinking as his stomach clenched.
Nielle raised an eyebrow slightly at how quickly this Lacrisan was giving in, "Suddenly?" he laughed, "You've changed your mind very quickly for someone who doesn't even know how unpleasant it is to wear this, don't you think?"
Shane didn't answer, only glancing at the collar, which he couldn't keep his eyes on for long before he looked down again and took a shaky breath. His entire body was filled with shivers, what a desperate feeling flow in him at the sight of the glowing signs. His stomach was in one painful spasm, he felt like he was going to throw up. Although he still had nothing on his neck, he could almost feel something gripping him and he subconsciously opened his mouth as he struggled to catch his breath.
The closer Nielle pulled the collar to him, the more intense the fear filled him. Memories of its cold grip flashed through his mind, he felt himself breathing harder, he felt himself suffocating, his insides screaming to get as far away from the thing as possible, he felt his legs shaking, though not long ago he stood firm. He didn't know what to do, he didn't know how to defend himself...after a long time, he was really at his wits end.
"Or do you know?" he heard Nielle's voice, which only gently took him out of a vivid nightmare.
Shane looked up at him in horror. He tried to say something, but Nielle wouldn't let him. He roughly touched Shane's neck, giving Lacrisan an unadulterated sense of dread at the thought that he was about to be collared.
"Indeed," Nielle examined his skin, "very pale...the owner is probably killed," he remarked as he only now noticed the very light markings adorning Shane's neck, "how many years ago did you have it? Were they still commonly available then? Did you get it in Rinsel? Apparently you haven't been to our country yet. Did a Rinselan give it to you in Lacris? Remarkable." He scanned Shane's signs.
But Shane didn't answer, he just stood there, unable to move.
"I'm not surprised you're scared when you've been through it," Nielle laughed and lightly shifted the collar from hand to hand, letting go of Shane's neck for a moment, "then why are you so incredibly rude?" he was interested.
Shane didn't know what to say. All his previous thought processes disappeared, for a moment he forgot why he was in this country at all, where he was and with whom. The only thing running through his mind was that he can't have that collar put around his neck...he just can't. However, he knew very well how it ended the last time.
"Sorry," he blurted out, "I'm s-sorry."
Nielle smiled happily, "A very nice change," he touched his face, causing Shane to let out a frightened breath, "I'm glad we're finally starting to understand each other, Lacrisan." he was amused by Shane's fear, which he really liked.
"I-I," Shane began as Nielle lifted the collar in satisfaction, "I won't do it again," he promised slowly as if he was trying to regain his composure, "I'll never do it again, so...don´t do this to me. We can talk about it." he needed to get the collar off his neck.
Nielle smiled amused and asked, "Do you want to talk?" he smiled, "Okay, we can talk," he ran down Shane's chest and gently moved to his collarbone just below his neck, "it you tell me, who you met today and for what purpose, I'll hide this collar and you won't see it again until you make more mistakes." he promised.
Shane looked at him silently for a moment, as if he couldn't remember where he was today and what he had done. It took some time for his memories to clear…and then it took a few seconds for him to realize that his current task was more important than his own feelings.
"I...I was mad at Iuwine," he began, "He irritated me...I wanted to be alone...I went to look at some stalls but I didn't have any money, so I went to the bank... and bought some things after…I didn't want Iuwine to keep following me…so I went alone". He said slowly as if he was going to spoil it with his answer.
"Anything else?" Nielle wasn´t surprised by the answer.
Shane looked at the ground and nodded gently, "I don't know what else you want to hear."
Nielle took a soft breath and said, "That's a shame, my job is to make sure Lacrisans like you don't make a mess in my country," he said, lightly waving his collar in front of Shane's eyes, "remember, you had a chance." he stated, simply placing the collar around Lacisan's neck.