#evine

Who employed the detective to go after the murderer? One of the family victims? Or other?

Is there a reason particular for the killings? Is it related to Kan's personality or more like her job? Has she ever killed before she got employed at the group?

When is she gonna break?

Does Kan has a particular reason to work in the company? Or just financially?

Are there any side characters that might evolve further the relationship or dynamics between the two?

these are all good questions omg 😭😭 I don’t really want to spoil a lot of the lore. I was hoping to gradually ease it out in mini comics but I’ll answer it the best I can!

CW: graphic branding, begging, brainwashing, pet whump

Callum fell asleep shortly after Alvard left. He awoke to the sound of Evine’s voice. “Please, if you hurt him any more he could die! He isn’t used to this. Couldn’t he get shocked or something?”

“The phrase is “go into shock”, and I can handle it if he does. Wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened in these cells and I’m sure it won’t be the last either.” Callum felt a boot connect with his side and he grunted, turning onto the opposite side and curling in on himself.

“What do you want? Haven’t you done enough to me already?” Callum all but whispered. His collar was still on, but had been dirtied by the cell. Alvard didn’t mind; he was used to the layer of grime that covered things here. 

“I haven’t done nearly as much as I plan to, pet.” He walked around Callum and kicked his wounds on his back, making the boy cry out in pain and arch backwards, stretching the already shredded skin. 

“Please, your majesty, give him some time to heal. Then you can do whatever you want.” Evine tried to plead with the unfeeling golden eyes. 

“But I can do whatever I want now, why would I want to wait?” He ignored any further pleas from Evine and addressed the man on the floor beneath him. “Lie on your back.”

Callum tried to respond calmly. “Well you see, I can’t do that because some twat decided to whip me-” He let out another sharp shout as the boot behind him connected with his back again. With a great deal of muttering he slowly eased onto his back. 

“Now,” Alvard began, walking a few steps away, “you still haven’t obeyed both rules from yesterday. Do you remember what they were?”

“Always eat your veggies and-”

“Incorrect. They were ‘Do not remove your collar.’ And ‘Address me as Master.” You have only followed one of them. This is your chance to change your mistake.”

“I haven’t made any.”

“Fine.” An iron rod appeared in the king’s hand, around three feet long and half an inch thick. Callum could see it had some sort of shape on the end out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t care to be beaten again, but he supposed things could be worse. 

“I’ve been thinking,” said Alvard, waving the rod dramatically, “that you should have some sort of identifying mark in case you try to run away. On the off chance you would be stupid enough to try that.” 

“Of course I wouldn’t do that.” Callum was half sarcastic, but there was something dangerously close to begging in his voice. 

“Of course.” The king’s face drew into a mocking pout. “But better be safe than sorry.” He grinned and brought the shape at the end of the rod to his empty hand. His hand glowed with heat, and Callum realised what he was about to do. 

“No wait!” Without looking down, Alvard placed a boot squarely on his diaphragm, the toe of his boot just barely touching the top of his sternum. Callum wriggle under the force, trying to get away. “Just wait a minute, we can talk about this.” Panic was quickly seeping into his words. 

The shape now glowing red-hot, the king bent down and ripped Callum’s already ruined shirt down the front, and then around the arms so it came off in tatters. The prince tried to lift his arms to protect his chest, but the manacles were stuck behind Alvard’s calf. “Now try not to squirm. It’ll hurt more if you do.” The king said as he slowly brought the heated shape toward Callum’s left pectoral, trying to line it up straight between his shoulder and nipple. The prisoner watched it approach with increasing fear. He felt bile rise in his throat. “Master, please.” He said quietly. A little debasement now to avoid permanent scars. He told himself. 

“Sorry, what was that?” The brand moved farther away from his skin.

“Master, please don’t do this.” He said it clearly now, trying to ignore Evine’s stare from the other cell. “Please, Master, I’ll follow the rules.”

“Very good!” Alvard and Callum both smiled, one in triumph the other in relief. The brand plunged into the prince’s skin, making him scream. He could feel his skin bubbling and popping in the red-hot agony on his chest. “But too little too late. You had your chance earlier. Remember next time that my mercy will only extend to a certain point.” Callum felt the metal pull some of his skin with it as it left his chest. “But I am proud of our progress today. If you thank me now, we can be done for the day. What do you say?”

Callum gritted his teeth in pain and anger. “Thank you, Master.”

“Well done, pet. See you tomorrow.” The boot left his chest as Alvard disappeared. 

Evine could see the brand as Callum sat up. It was a basic diamond shape with a line connecting the two obtuse points. Alvard’s family’s royal symbol; he knew it from his studies. He stared at it before looking at Callum’s face. “Are you okay?” 

“Leave me alone. And when we get out of here, don’t tell anyone what happened. I just said that to get him to stop. You would do the same.” Callum huffed as much of a scoff as he could muster in his current condition. “In fact, I recall you would say anything to me a few times.”

His smile fell after he turned away. Does that mean I was as cruel as Mas- King Alvard? He thought to himself. How could I have treated someone that way and thought it was normal? He started to realise that he had worse in store for him than Evine had ever endured by his hand. Maybe it’s what I deserve.

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The next morning, Alvard woke up to Evine quietly moving about the room dusting. He was dressed in new clothes for the first time since he’d been there: a cream shirt and loose grey pants, as well as soft black shoes. “Good morning, your Majesty.” He said with a smile. 

“Good morning Evine. From now on, ‘sir’ will do fine. How long have you been up?” The king sat up in bed, the soft covers falling from his bare shoulders to his waist. Evine didn’t look up from his dusting, instead moving directly to the closet. 

“Only a few minutes.” He lied. He’d been up since the wee hours of the morning, worrying about what he would be doing today. At least doing this he was in his element. “What would you like to wear today, sir?”

“Just whatever goes together.” When Evine came out of the closet carrying the clothes, Alvard was standing at the end of the bed facing away from him, using magic to make the bed. The magic is not what held Evine’s attention. 

Evine was staring at the king’s lean, muscled back; a latticework of pinkish white scars covered almost every area of skin there was to be seen. Some wrapped around to his ribs, others over his shoulders. Many of them looked like the whip marks he’d seen on castle slaves back in Thileweld. These were accompanied by a fewer number of what looked like burns of varying sizes. Alvard turned around to face him. 

The king’s front was almost as covered, most notably a large circular burn scar directly over his diaphragm. Evine didn’t meet the king’s gaze; his eyes were locked onto the scars. 

“Quite something, isn’t it? Don’t worry, all this happened a long time ago.” Alvard walked up to Evine and held out his hand for the clothes. Evine continued to stare and said nothing. Eventually Alvard gently took the clothes from Evine and began to put them on. 

“Wh-” Evine began but thought better of it, before changing his mind again. “What happened?” 

“A lot of things happen during war time. I got captured once. Didn’t go too well for me.” He said nonchalantly as he pulled on his boots. “Like I said, it was a while ago.”

“How did you get out?”

“They let me go.”

“Who-”

“I don’t want to talk any more about this, Evine.” He said sharply.  “Can you hand me those?” He added, more gently this time. He pointed to his rings on his side table and Evine obeyed. “Thank you. You will stay in my quarters and clean today while I’m out. Please just do your best, nothing has to be perfect.” Evine nodded.

***

Alvard walked down the hall and into Callum’s cell. He caused the same setup as the day before to appear before taking the box off Callum’s head. “Hello, pet.”

“Hello, Master.” There was no sarcasm in his voice this time. Good. Alvard thought. Progress. He looked hungrily at the bowl of food sitting next to Alvard. “May I please have some, Master?”

“Very good, very polite. You’re learning quite well.” Callum smiled with the praise. “However, I’d like an apology for yesterday before we continue today.” 

“Yes, Master. I’m sorry for talking back and refusing to eat yesterday. It will not happen again, I promise.” The reply was sincere, but robotic. Alvard sighed.

“That’s not what I want. It’s honest but there’s no submission.” He paused. “Do you understand what I mean?” Callum looked at him for a moment before tentatively shaking his head. 

Alvard thought for a moment, then with an inhuman quickness punched Callum in the nose. There was a sharp crack as his nose broke, and blood began running down from his nostrils. His eyes watered, and before he could say anything, Alvard grabbed the broken part of his nose. Callum screeched and tried to pull away. “Stop.” Alvard said calmly. “Moving will only make it hurt worse.” 

“Why?” Callum sobbed. “What… What do you… What do you want fr- from me? I did what you asked!” He was now trying to stay as still as possible. 

“The point of this exercise is to make sure you understand how you’re supposed to act, not just know what to say. If I do this for example,” Alvard twisted Callum’s nose and Callum could feel the broken pieces of bone grinding against each other. Callum screamed. “What would you do to make it stop?” 

“Anything, please Master! Pl-” He sobbed. “Please make it stop.”

“Now, I want to hear the apology again.” He squeezed the nose, causing more blood to spurt out.

“I’m sorry, please, I’m so sorry. It won’t happen again I swear!” He gasped with relief when the hand left his nose. Alvard waved a hand and the nose righted itself with a sickening crunch.

“Do you see now? Do you understand what I want? You have to remember: all good things come from me, but I can cause the bad too. Do not force me to punish you.”

Now, Callum did understand. He felt totally helpless when Master had hold of his broken nose. That’s what he was: helpless. No one was coming to save him from this. It is either obey or suffer. Master wanted him to always remember that suffering could follow any action he took. “I understand, Master. I think I understand.”

“Then tell me what I want. And remember what will happen if you get it wrong.” Callum glanced at the food, at the box’s cover, and then back to Master. 

“You want me to know that your m- mercy is the only thing between m- me and suffering.” His voice still cracked, but he was no longer sobbing. 

“Very good. Now-” Alvard picked up the food and began getting a spoonful ready. “I believe a reward is in order.” 

The king appeared outside Callum’s cell. The box was silent, as he expected. Callum must’ve tired himself out by now. Alvard waved his hand and a cushioned chair appeared, as well as a small side table topped with a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of water. Alvard sat down in the chair before taking the box off Callum’s head.

  “Good morning, sunshine.” Alvard said with a grin. Callum’s limp head picked up. Callum felt as though he’d spent an eternity in the box. He couldn’t take the silence. There was nothing, not the dripping of water, or the sounds of guards outside, not the moving of chains. He’d forgotten about true silence. How he knew it now.

  “Good morning, Master.” He loved the ringing of his own voice, although he hated what he was saying. Even he was silenced by the box, unable to hear himself make any noise.

  “How polite we are today! Very good.” Alvard condescended. “I brought you some food.” Callum looked up greedily at the food. He was starving; he hadn’t had anything to think about except what he would do the next time he was free from the box. The thing at the forefront of his mind was eating. “Would you like some?”

“Yes.” He stared at the bowl. When it didn’t move he looked back to Alvard. The King sat with a disapproving pout on his face. “Please, Master. I’d like to eat.” He added, hoping that’s what the man was looking for. Callum expected the man to let him out of the box to eat. Even if he was forced to go back, he would at least have a chance to stretch his limbs and-

  To his horror, instead Alvard picked up the bowl and began scooping up a large spoonful of the thick oatmeal. “Wait what are you-”

  His intentions were made clear when he gently held the spoon up to Callum’s lips. “Eat.”

The prince’s pride boiled up within him again. “I will not be fed like a toddler. I do not need someone to feed me. I can do it myself.”

The king laughed. “How? Your arms are in the box.”

“No shit. You’re the one who put me in here. Just let me out to eat.” He tried to make it sound more like a suggestion than an order.

  “I don’t think your words are very appropriate for your station, pet.” Alvard was getting annoyed now. He put the bowl down and reached for the box to cover up Callum’s head.

  “Wait, please!” Callum began to writhe in the box again at the idea of going back to the silence and darkness. Alvard’s movements continued. “Please wait, Master!” Alvard paused. “I’ll eat. I’m sorry, Master. I was ungrateful. It won’t happen again.” The prisoner was breathing hard and fast, still just getting used to the fresh air outside the stuffy box.

  “Too late,” Alvard said simply, “you had your chance. See you tomorrow.” And with that the box was replaced over Callum’s trembling head.  

***

That night Alvard remembered his promise to Evine right before he was about to crawl into bed. A list. He’d have to make it simple, he didn’t want the poor boy going through any more stress than necessary. He sat down at his desk and began to scrawl.

1. Pick out clothes and help me dress in the morning. 2. Keep my room clean and have the laundry ready for the clothes lady on Saturdays. 3. Keep away from my weapons and armour, and don’t touch my desk.

Alvard wiped a hand down his face. He’d also forgotten to enchant Evine earlier. Shit. He picked up the list and walked quietly toward the manservant’s quarters before knocking tentatively. “Evine?”

“Yes, your Majesty?” Came muffled from inside. Alvard opened the door to see Evine sitting up on the bed. It looked like he’d been sleeping. Good, Alvard thought, he probably needed the rest.

  “I brought you the list. Also, I realised I forgot to put those spells on you earlier. Can you come here please?” Alvard felt weird about invading the boy’s space after everything he’d been through. Evine got up and walked drowsily to the door. He wasn’t sure exactly what the spells entailed. Would they be painful?

Alvard reached out a hand and put it on Evine’s shoulder. An odd feeling swept through him, almost like nausea, but without the urge to retch. He felt dizzy, and stumbled forward. “Sorry,” Alvard said quietly as he caught him, “I didn’t know how it would affect someone unused to magic. Apparently not well.” Alvard slowly led a stumbling Evine over to the bed and guided him down.

  “Goodnight, Evine, see you in the morning.” Alvard set the list onto the bedside table and slowly walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Evine was less frightened this time when the guard came to take him out of his cell. He was led through the same endless halls and stairways as last time, up to the King’s room. The guard knocked and shouted something through the door in the language Evine couldn’t understand. Soon Alvard opened the door and nodded to the guard before pulling Evine into the room and directing him to sit down in the same chair as last time. 

“So, Evine, was it?” the King waited for Evine to nod before continuing. “Well, Evine, what relevant experience do you have? I know you’ve worked for Callum as a manservant for a while. Exactly how long has it been?”

“About… five years?” Evine looked taken aback. What is going on? King Alvard was writing something down in a language Evine didn’t know, presumably the one the guard had spoken. For all his obsession with Slivgrad, he had never thought to learn the language.

“Perfect. And what duties have you performed for him in that time?” The king didn’t look up from his writing. 

“Um,” Evine was starting to get nervous. He felt like this was leading to an interrogation. His apprehension was growing by the minute. “I washed him, dressed him, made his bed, brought him his food and tested it for poison, kept his room clean, helped sort his mail. You know, just standard things that manservants do. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“I see. Well you should be perfect for the job then although I can wash myself, as can most people over the age of 7.” 

“What do you mean?” Evine was completely confused now. Why had the King brought him here?

“Did the guard not tell you?” He looked up from his writing for the first time and met Evine’s eyes. Evine just stared and shook his head. “Ah, okay.” He stood and walked to his desk before rifling through some papers. “You’re in need of a job, and I’m in need of a manservant. I was hoping we could help each other. If you’re willing of course.” He seemed to finally find what he was looking for: a large piece of parchment. Alvard brought it to the table and laid it out in front of Evine, leaning over his shoulder to do so. Evine jolted at the sudden closeness. 

“A job?” Evine asked numbly. Out of the frying pan, into the fire. 

“Yep! Here,” Alvard pointed to the parchment, “is the contract. I’ll let you read it over and let me know what you think of it.” 

Evine looked up at the King. Alvard was grinning from ear to ear, a good or bad sign he didn’t know. “I can’t read Slivgradian, your Majesty.”

“Oh. Well let me summarise.” he picked up the parchment and began to look it over. “The pros are it’ll get you out of the dungeon and doing something productive, plus you won’t have to worry about Callum until his training is done. You’ll be given better food up here, of course, as well as your own quarters, just off of mine.” Alvard nodded toward one of the doors beside his desk. “Only cons are I’d have to put a few spells on your person.” He glanced toward Evine and was met with a worried look. “Nothing major, just that you can’t leave the castle unless you’re accompanying me and you can’t hurt me. I technically can’t die but stab wounds are a bitch to deal with, and the blood still stains.”

Evine was in awe at what he was hearing. Alvard couldn’t die? How was that even possible? Magic, he guessed. The contract didn’t seem to bad, and Alvard seemed tough but fair. He probably wouldn’t punish Evine unless he really deserved it. “Sounds fine to me,” he said quietly, “but what about Callum? Won’t he need a manservant anymore?” It felt like a foolish question, but he was still afraid of Callum despite the fact he was in a magical box behind bars. 

The King almost laughed. “No, dear. The prince will be dependent on me after his training. Trust me, it will be quite the sight.” His eyes gleamed. Evine had never been so terrified on behalf of another person. 

“Maybe he’s learned his lesson?” Evine prompted. “Then you wouldn’t have to hurt him anymore.”

“Don’t tell me you’re on his side in all this. I’m sure he hasn’t treated you well these past five years. And with what he said about my sister? He’s lucky he’s not undergoing worse.”

“Isn’t it cruel though? Sure he’s been rude to be or beat me up a few times,” Evine knew this was a large understatement, but needed to defend his case, “but I’m sure he’d never do anything like what you’re doing.”

“Maybe not. But this is the choice I have made and I will follow it to the end.” With that, Alvard stood and opened the door farthest from the desk, revealing a small but comfortable room with a bed, a chair, another door, and a wardrobe. “The cabinet has clothes in it, so you can change out of those filthy ones. The door leads to your bathroom. Please shower before you start work tomorrow morning. I’ll make a list of your duties in Common and give it to you tonight. Now, I need to go visit Callum.” With that, he disappeared.

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