Chapter 5

Nikal still left Taven pretty much alone at first. In spite of the fact that he had succeeded in getting somewhat closer to him things were no less complicated. Taven was willing to try and behave now and that was all well and good. But that didn’t mean that he was totally changed just because of that. Nikal soon learned Taven’s change only had to do with himself personally. For some strange reason Taven had submitted totally but only to him. Any good behavior among other people had only to do with if he thought Nikal would get upset or not or if he would find out or not. He gave one of the other slaves a nosebleed one day apparently for saying something to him that he didn’t like and he was remorseful enough when Nikal scolded him for it but two days later the same slave got a fat lip to match the swollen nose. Nikal just sighed and told the other servant not to go near the redhead again. An order he seemed glad to follow. Nikal still didn’t know what to use him for either. The boy tried but it was pretty obvious he needed a lot of training to fit into a household like this. Foul words just fell over his lips, his manners was a disaster and even though Nikal started to try and teach him what would be expected of him he honestly doubted he could ever use him for some attendance. He started to spend more and more time with him in spite of all this though and kept on trying to train him. It was not that Taven was stupid. He was quick in catching things on. But he was just so mentally unstable. One minute he was all confident that he could learn anything and then when he failed in something he thought himself totally worthless and cried and begged Nikal not to sell him. Nikal was a patient man but he wasn’t used to things like this. He would have given it up only it didn’t seem fair to Taven to just let him stay in the house doing nothing at all as if he was just a mere unusual object to look at now and then. He was a sight though. Nikal thought the boy got prettier every day. Nikal often found himself forgetting whatever he was doing at the moment for staring at him so much. Maybe it was because the boy was a bit happier after all, at least compared to what he had been before? Maybe because he was better fed? Better clothed, no bruises in his face anymore? Nikal didn’t know what it was but he sure looked good. It was kind of hard on Nikal because he had promised himself he would not touch a boy that mentally run down but It was damn tempting. He would watch those almost white lashes frame the slate gray of his eyes. He would look at that silky hair spill over his slender back the few times he let it down. He would follow the exquisite lines of his face, the enticing curve of his shoulders… and he had to will himself to look away. Taven himself did not make it easier to hold to his decision. He seemed bent on getting sexual attention from his master and would quite shamelessly trying to offer his body for use. Not so much in words though but Nikal recognized well the body language. Nikal was not going to act upon it, he told himself. The kid obviously couldn’t be held responsible for his behavior. He only acted on what he had been taught. Nikal would be a real bastard taking advantage of that. He tried his best not to show how he felt about the slave and he could sense Taven was worried and bewildered about it. It was obvious Taven still didn’t trust that he wasn’t going to be used. It was obvious he still thought he would be thrown out at any time for not being good enough to use. It was obvious he still thought Nikal found him disgusting and ugly since he didn’t use him. It was also obvious that he didn’t really want to be fucked like some damn toy and Nikal certainly wasn’t going to. One thought had occupied him lately though and that was that awful tattoo. Nikal really wanted to get rid of it if it was possible and he consulted a physician about it. >>> * <<< "Taven, this is doctor Cordoux, I brought him here to take a look at your back. Will you please show him?" The doctor and Taven looked equally surprised at Nikal asking him in such a tone. Taven wasn’t prepared to be co-operative though. "Like hell I will." The doctor’s eyes grew wider. "Well I never…" Nikal waved impatiently in the air to silence them both. "I’m sorry about that doctor but his bark is worse than his bite. He will do as I say. Taven, look, I’m not doing this to humiliate you, I’m doing this to help you. I want you to show the doctor your tattoo, I’ve told him about it so he already knows" A very dark look from the slave’s gray eyes. "Now you know I could make you but why complicate things this much? As I said, it is for your own good and if you absolutely refuse it, then OK, I won’t make you but then you’ll miss out on a chance of getting rid of it." Taven’s eyes widened in surprise and his voice carried hope. "Get…get rid of it?" Nikal nodded. "I didn’t want to tell you right away because it may not be possible but we will never know, won’t we? If you will not let the doctor see the damn thing." Taven looked down in shame. "Of course. I’m sorry Dr. Cordoux." He didn’t wait for the physician’s acceptance of his apology but turned around and pulled his shirt up. "Oh…" The doctor exclaimed and actually blushed. "Really… that’s just… awful. I can understand you both want it gone. Will you please lie down on the bed?" he asked Taven in a very friendly voice. Taven obeyed without questioning. Cordoux sat down beside him and after pulling on a pair of rubber gloves he carefully lifted the shirt up a bit and eased his trousers down just a tad too. He put his hands to his back and stretched the skin on several different places throughout the tattoo. Last he laid one hand on each buttock with a bit of hesitation and pulled them gently apart to look at the arrow too. His eyes widened as he did so. "Oh my." He said in that tone only a doctor could produce when you have a terminal illness that they don’t want to tell you about. Cordoux shook his head. "Oh my." He repeated. Taven turned his head to look worriedly at Nikal. "What?" Nikal asked. "I would advise you to take this kid to my practice as soon as possible Nikal. I would like to give him a more thorough examination if it’s all the same to you." He turned directly to Taven, squirming a bit under him, wondering what was so bad. "Have you ever been taken to a doctor before boy?" He asked as friendly as before. Taven seemed to have decided to trust his master that much that he didn’t consider the old man an enemy. He turned and answered respectfully. "Just once Sir. He didn’t think I was worth wasting money on medical bills but once a friend of his took me." Cordoux nodded seriously. "I see. And what brought that rare visit about?" Taven turned slowly and pulled his shirt up a bit more to reveal his missing nipple. Cordoux startled and stared. "What on earth… Will you tell me what happened?" Taven hesitated; the memory seemed to pain him. "It’s all right boy. Take your time." Cordoux smiled reassuringly as did Nikal over the old doctor’s shoulder. "Well… he said that he wanted my nipples pierced. But that cheap son of a…. He didn’t want to pay a piercer to do it. He did it himself." Taven closed his eyes as if to will away the memories so that he could go on in a rather detached way. "So, he tied me up and pierced one nipple, used some old syringe he had lying around, I don’t think he even cleaned it before. It hurt like hell and he wasn’t satisfied with how it turned out he said so he pulled it out and did it again… and… and… he pierced that damn nipple five times. I begged him to stop it but that bastard just laughed at me. Finally he put some ring in. A week later it was so infected it was throbbing constantly. I begged him to take the ring out, he said he would fucking kill me… I’m sorry, that’s what he said, if I took it out. It got more and more infected and it hurt so damn bad and I was really ill with it so a friend of his said he had to do something about it. He just told him to mind his own damn business but the friend took me anyway. The doctor said he couldn’t save it so he just gave me some shots and…" Taven gulped as if the memory alone made him want to throw up. "… and cut it off and sewed it up…" His last words were forced and his eyes got a wet sheen to them. He turned on his belly again to hide it. Silence reigned the room for more than a few heartbeats. Then Cordoux breathed in air through his nose in a way that clearly indicated anger. "Well I’ve never… Do you know that doctor’s name?" Cordoux sounded so angry that Taven flinched and looked at Nikal with a "what’d I do"- look in his eyes. "Believe me," Nikal said in reply of that look, "It is not you we are angry with." Cordoux nodded agreement. "Of course not. But I would gladly put such a charlatan out of practice. Quack!" He exclaimed angrily. "I have no idea," Taven said, "no one told me and it wasn’t like I could read the sign on the door." "Do you remember where the practice was at?" Taven seemed to think hard but then looked miserable. "I’m sorry… I was so out of it with fever. I was lying in the backseat of a car… I haven’t got a clue… really." Nikal sat down on the bedside too and stroke his head. "It’s all right. We’ll find him. I’ll put Roth on it. He’s a master at such work. He used to be a private eye, you know? Seems like it will be a full time job for some time ahead to find all of these bastards." Taven looked totally baffled. "Yes, you’ll be sure I will not let the people that did this to you get away with it," Nikal said looking grim. Taven’s eyes widened even more in surprise. "You… you would to that… For me? Why?" Nikal smiled. "For you, yes and for others too so that they can’t keep doing such things to other poor souls." Cordoux nodded. "What that doctor did to you was malpractice boy. Your master’s friend might just have wanted to help you but no real doctor would have gone about it that way. What he did was illegal." Taven frowned bitterly. "But piercing me in the first place wasn’t illegal, was it? Or anything else that he did to me?" They both shook their heads as bitterly. "I’m afraid not," Cordoux Confirmed, "your owner has all the rights. No law covers that unfortunately. Personally I think the whole system’s an abomination. Well, him we can’t get at I’m afraid." Nikal was still stroking his hair as he leaned over him to whisper in his ear. "But he will pay just the same Taven. I will make sure of that!" Taven had no time to react to that strange comment before Nikal rose and turned to Cordoux again. "Now, what about the tattoo?" "The tattoo yes. It is certainly possible to remove tattoos with laser. But a tattoo this size… it will take a very, very long time. A specialist can only work on a few square inches at a time and every part has to be worked over about two or three times for it to fade that much that it won’t be visible. One has to be careful with using lasers on human skin so one has to go about it slowly and let the skin rest in between. I would not recommend more than two sessions a week, tops. And with a tattoo this big… it will take almost two years to get rid of it and the treatment is not cheap. Your health insurance doesn’t cover your slaves." Nikal shrugged. "Money is not a problem. What about the result, will it go away completely?" Now it was Cordoux’s turn to shrug. "Can’t say really. This is not my area of expertise. I looked it up when you asked me about it. I will have to send you to a specialist. But what I gather of it the result is often good. Though a tattoo this big… and it seems very deeply carved here and there. I don’t think you will get a perfect result here, but I’m positive they can remove it as much as it will be impossible to tell what it is. Except for the arrow I’m afraid. I would think the skin is too thin there to get a good result." Nikal pressed the subject. "But you think it is worth it to take him to this specialist?" Cordoux nodded. "As long as money isn’t the subject I’d say it is definitely worth it. Do you have any questions boy?" Taven looked up in surprise. "Who? Me? Uh… Does it hurt?" Cordoux nodded. "You’ll feel it. I won’t lie to you. But it is bearable. It is not worse then getting the actual tattoo was, I’m sure. And by the looks of you it can’t possibly be worse than what you have already gone through." >>> * <<< Nikal took Taven to Dr. Cordoux’s practice a few days later. Taven wasn’t happy about it Nikal could tell walking sulkily by his side into the practice but he didn’t protest. He wasn’t stupid, Nikal knew he knew it was for his own good but he could understand his apprehension. He looked even sulkier when Nikal came back about half the day later to pick him up but still didn’t utter a word of protest as Nikal told him to go and wait in the car while he talked to Dr Cordoux. "Well…" Cordoux said hesitatingly and fiddled with a pencil, "In a way he’s all right. He’s small for his age and a bit on the skinny side but it’s still within the margins of normality and there’s nothing wrong with his health on the whole. Though, as you already have seen yourself his body carries a lot of traces of brutal abuse and there are more of those traces that doesn’t meet the eye as well." Nikal leaned forward. "Yes? Go on please." Cordoux hawked and hemmed. "The scars are mainly from whips made of liquid metal. He told me so and it seems probable. The character of that material are likely to cause such scars as it tears the skin very easily but it is light enough not to cause internal injuries as easily as any other beating would. This, I am certain, is the only reason to why he is still alive today. It is possible to perform plastic surgery on the worst of those scars to make them less apparent if the way he look disturbs you very much but I wouldn’t recommend it." Nikal leaned back again. "Why not?" "Because it is only a matter of looks and it will cause him a loft of pain and make him spend a lot of time in recovery. Besides, it is only a matter of diminishing them; you can’t make them disappear. If it’s all the same to you I would say it is best to leave them be. It doesn’t hurt him physically anymore." Nikal nodded, agreeing. "The same goes for the cigarette marks, though as he is going through laser treatment anyway we could try it on his thighs too, it might smoothen the area out a bit. Won’t hurt more than getting rid of the tattoo. Maybe you could let him decide for himself if he thinks it’s worth it?" "Yes, maybe I will. You said you found hidden traces?" Cordoux nodded sadly. "Yes he has been beaten up the old-fashioned way a lot too." Cordoux turned and lit up a light-board behind his chair, there was a lot of X-rays on it. He rose and started to point at them with his pen. "Look at this! Left forearm fracture. He said he was hit with a baseball bat. It was never treated. He was lucky the arm didn’t break clean off or it would most likely have healed in a wrong position. Now fortunately nature took care of it. He has no means from it today but you can be sure he must have been in constant pain for a long time while it healed." He pointed at another X-ray. "And here. Six rib fractures… here… here and here… and this one was fractured three times. Again he was lucky, no clean breaks, could have punctured a lung easily, that would probably have killed him." He pointed to the next X-ray, a hand on it. Nikal thought the bones looked small and delicate as bird bones. "And here. Clean break of left little finger. Do you see how the ends have been pushed beside each other and then grown together like that? A simple treatment finished in ten minutes would have saved this finger. Well, it doesn't affect the usage of the whole hand much but I can’t imagine how much this must have hurt. He told me he put his hand in a door and smashed it… it is hard to believe but…" Cordoux got to the last X-rays. "Finally, this! Fractured jaw, again he was extremely lucky that this healed well on its own. I guess he’s lucky his teeth are still in place too but these molars here are actually a bit loosened. You’ll have to consult a dentist about what to do about that. His nose is fine, which I find surprising after such abuse but it seems that man was trying not to destroy his looks and only hurt him where it couldn’t be seen when he wore clothes. Speaking of which…" Cordoux reached to pick up a few more pictures, spreading them on the desk. Nikal stared as dumbfounded at these as he had the X-rays. "This is a normal eardrum… and this is Taven’s. See the difference? These bubbly ridges are scars formed after the eardrum is ruptured. His eardrums on both sides have been blown to shreds about ten times Nikal, probably by very hard slaps over the ears. It is likely that some of those blows caused him concussions as well but it is impossible to tell afterwards. I can’t find any traces of head injuries or brain damage due to this consistent violence towards the head but that does not mean that there isn’t any. To be sure he would have to undergo a CAT scan. Though I don’t think that’s necessary. He seems normal and average intelligent enough. I tested his hearing too, it’s not good, couldn’t be after all this scarring. You see these scars stiffen the eardrum and it can’t vibrate like it should to receive sound waves. That might be one reason to why he’s so loud Nikal. Though, and again he’s lucky, his hearing is not that impaired that it should be a problem." Nikal had a problem with taking all of this information in. "God, it’s insane… Is there more?" Cordoux nodded. "He’s been sexually abused." Nikal rolled his eyes. "Yes, I knew that much." "His rectum is… very scarred. That’s why I asked that you came here with him, I saw it when I examined that tattoo. Nikal… I’m embarrassed to ask and I know it is certainly not any of my business but… have you been… intimate with this boy or are you planning on being? I’m not implying anything but I have to ask." Nikal smiled at the old doctor’s obvious embarrassment. "It’s quite all right Dr Cordoux. You know the decadent ways of us aristocrats. No seriously. I haven’t touched him that way, no. I admit the thought has entered my mind though. I do prefer women most of the times but an occasional fling with a male… well, you must admit he’s is beautiful beyond those scars?" Cordoux looked even more embarrassed and looked down hawking and hemming and turning quite crimson. "Well, well, the ways of the young these days… I’m too old for such my boy but one can not turn a blind eye on facts I guess. So I gather this boy holds a certain appeal for you? Well, you must consider the consequences then, he is most likely to suffer mentally from the abuse he’s been put through and I would advice you to treat him with silk gloves concerning this." Nikal nodded seriously. "That’s exactly my opinion doctor. As I said I haven’t touched him and I will not touch him either if I think he will suffer from it in any way. I assure you I will not abuse him." "Good, good… Anyway, if you would, some time in the future, be… intimate with the boy there are a few things you must know. First that he is, as I said, badly scarred in that area and it has to be done with utmost carefulness. Hm, I am not an expert but I have a few brochures here on the subject." He took up some folded glossy papers from a desk drawer and shoved it across the desktop towards Nikal without looking at them. Nikal smiled but took them and put them in the inner pocket of his jacket. "Second… he has a few STD’s." Nikal looked questioningly at Cordoux. "STD’s?" "Yes, Sexually Transmitted Diseases." Nikal’s eyes widened. "Oh? OH… STD’s… Oh my!" Now it was Cordoux’s turn to smile, though with an embarrassed look still on his face. "Yes. He’s got gonorrhea and herpes and…" "And? There’s more? "I’m afraid so, he’s got chlamydia too and condyloma..." Nikal just opened his mouth, then shut it and then slowly opened it again. "Oh my. That’s not good is it?" Cordoux shook his head. "He told me his last owner lent him out to his friends on numerous occasions and he couldn’t remember any of those men ever using a condom. Can you believe such irresponsible behavior? He’s lucky not to have caught anything deadlier, that’s for sure." Nikal was still pretty shook up by this revelation but finally managed to utter a question. "I really don’t know much about these conditions, are they curable?" Cordoux nodded. "I have given him what treatment I could today and you will get some prescripted medication too. See to it that he takes it like he should and he should get rid of the gonorrhea and the chlamydia and he will have to come back for several check ups and to try to burn those warts away. Though the herpes is a totally different matter I’m afraid. It can’t be cured. He will carry the virus for the rest of his life. Though it is mostly contagious when it blisters, not that much in between and a condom gives full security against the risk of catching it. He can still be… used." Cordoux said the last word with a tone of disgust and contempt. Nikal got the distinct impression it was aimed more at the likes of him than at Taven. "Well, there is information about this too among those brochures, read them, read them to him!" Nikal felt bad, he felt sorry for Taven but at the same time he was disgusted. He knew it wasn’t Taven’s fault but still… What if he had been intimate with him? If he hadn’t taken Dr. Cordoux to see the tattoo… A shiver ran up his spine. He could have caught some of it too. Let this serve you as a lesson Nikal, he told himself inside his head and promised himself always to check these things up. Now, nothing would happen but had things been a little different he probably would have taken Taven to bed and he must ashamedly admit that he hadn’t planned on using a condom. The thoughts of such diseases had simply not occurred to him and that was plain stupid he realized because it was of course highly likely Taven would have caught something being used the way he had since he was just a little kid. It would have been strange if he had not had any. But so many? "So where has he got these… where is it located?" Cordoux looked sad. "Everywhere I’m afraid. On his sexual organs, in the anal region and in the mouth and even down his throat." Nikal slapped a hand over his forehead. "Oh Jesus…" >>> * <<< Nikal got in the car but didn’t start it right away. He sat there with his hands in his lap and tried to think about what to say. Taven sat at the passenger seat and looked stubbornly away. His fingers were nervously fiddling with the end of the long braid. "You know," Nikal started hesitatingly, "he had to tell me about the STD’s" Taven slumped over burying his face between his knees and burst out crying hysterically. Nikal felt for a few seconds the same urge to flee as when Taven had shown him the scars in the garden but he wasn’t going to do that this time. After a bit of hesitation he put his hands on the boy’s shoulders. Taven reacted wildly, shaking his hands off. "Don’t touch me!" he screamed. Not an angry scream, more of a desperately miserable plea, "Oh God I’m so disgusting!" he sobbed. Nikal took a new grip on his shoulders, firmer this time and raised him up with some force. "You’re not disgusting Taven. It’s not your fault…" Taven wasn’t listening to that. "You’re… not… gonna want to… keep me now for sure…" the words came out forcibly between hiccups and violent sobs, "I just know it… and no one else is gonna want to either…I’m… I’m full of fucking germs and bugs… oh my God… I wish I were dead…" Nikal shook him slightly to get through to him and finally took a hold of his jaw and made him look at him at the same time as silencing him with a firm hand over his mouth. "Would you just listen to me! I am not going to get rid of you. It’s not your fault. There was nothing that you could have done to avoid it. And you are not disgusting damn it, do you hear what I say?" Taven swallowed the sobs and nodded, looking wide eyed at his master, as if he didn’t believe what he was hearing. "Look! I’ve bought medications for you; do you think I would have done that if I were going to get rid of you? See?" He shook the bag from the pharmacy in his face. "It’s all right Taven. Things like this happen, and it happens to all kinds, highborn or slaves alike. It’s all right. I’ve got medications for you and Dr. Cordoux will help us, we’ll get rid of it." Taven shook his head, crying silently now. "No, Dr, Cordoux said the herpes thing can’t be cured… and… and I got it in… in my throat…" He started sobbing again. "Oh God I just wanna puke." Nikal drew him close and pressed his face to his chest, embracing him. "I know, I know, It’s a shame but we’ll deal with it. I’m not going to abandon you because of it Taven, you must try to believe that." >>> * <<< Roth hammered away at the keyboard and then printed the info he had found going through it a few times. Finding James Swift had not been difficult, finding anything on the man proved to be a whole different matter. There was nothing they could pin on the bastard.

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