Less Than

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

"Human."

You hated him. You hated that he saw you as weak, unworthy, a mere servant; less than a servant. You tried to swallow the lump in your throat that seemed to always manifest when one of the god-like men were around. They'd slaughtered so many, always in sight of the other "servants", reminding you all of your place in their world. The one currently towering over your seated form was the leader, Lord Kars, blood dripping off his arms. You weren't going to ask whose blood nor question what happened; you already knew. He was the more ruthless of the three from what you've observed, the others showing a small fraction of emotion occasionally. Not Kars though. Lord Kars cared only for absolute power, and slaying any who dared get in the way of his goal. He was especially cruel to the small group of humans that resided within their dwelling only for menial tasks deemed beneath the Pillar Men, and for their occasional amusement.

You lifted your eyes up, not meeting his gaze out of submissiveness, instead looking to the side of him. Once, while in a fowl mood, Kars had ran his blade through one of the other servants, the crime: looking him in his eyes, as if they was his equal. You ignored your fight or flight senses, biting your lip out of fear. You'd been living this nightmare for two weeks or so, it was hard to keep track, and so far you'd been left well enough alone, trying to blend in and stay in groups as to not be singled out. It worked, until now.

"Come." He grabbed you by your plain cotton tunic, roughly hauling you up on your feet. You bit down on your lip to keep from crying out in fear, stumbling to catch your balance from the sudden change of going from sitting to standing. You didn't need to be looking at him to know he had a cruel smirk on his face as he looked down upon you both physically and status-wise. "I require a bath." He said, flicking blood from his fingertips onto your tunic, not that it mattered, as when he grabbed you it left a large bloodstain from his hand onto the collar of the rough fabric. He led the way through the torch lit hallway, much too proud to walk behind you, as the two of you made your way to his chambers. You'd been in his bed chambers before to clean, never when he was around though. Why would he want a peasant around him in his room? Then again why would he want one around now? It was all just a game to him. See how much you'd take before you'd end up breaking, mentally or physically, it didn't matter. You'd managed to convince yourself that you had accepted the fact that you would likely die here, and that you could only hope you'd find peace once you'd been slain.

You followed him through the bedroom and in to the lavish stone bathroom, a large deep stone basin taking up the majority of said room. Truth be told, you'd never bathed anyone before, but you assumed it was just like bathing yourself. You stepped over to the large tub, which had a small inset shelf lined with various oils, soaps, perfumes, and hair products. Envy came over you as you thought of the small bucket and scrub brush you shared amongst the other humans. You couldn't recall the last time you'd had a real bath. You brushed away the memories of your old life as you turned on the tap, sitting on the edge as you let the water run over you hand, testing the temperature. You could see Kars' muscular figure out of the corner of your eye, removing the bracers that adorned his arms, having already removed his leg armor. You moved your head slightly so he was no longer in your view as you curiously picked up one of the glass bottles from the shelf. Rose oil. You opened the bottle, immediately catching the scent in your nose. Rose was such a nice scent; too nice for Kars. You put the bottle back as you noticed the tub was nearly full, turning the water off. You stood up from the edge of the tub, and turned to face Lord Kars, looking down at his feet.

You watched his feet approach you, your eyes shifting up and to the side. He stopped before you, his regal mane of deep purple hair now free from it's wrap, curling wildly around him. He bent down to your level, almost daring you to look at his crimson eyes. You stood firm, not looking at him, but your heart was beating so rapidly it almost hurt.

"What," He cooed, breath tickling your ear, "no oils?" You swallowed, your throat closed in fear, as your eyes looked at various spots on the wall. You could smell the metallic scent of blood on him.

"F-forgive me. I didn't know what scent you preferred." You managed to squeak out. He hummed next to your ear, enjoying toying with you.

"The rose oil you had earlier will do just nicely. Such a lovely scent, isn't it?" He was fishing for a response, as if daring you to voice how you'd mentally stated that rose was too nice for him. You nodded and turned away from him, hoping to you didn't receive a blade in the back for your mistake. You quickly added a few drops of the oil to the steaming water, swirling it a bit with your hand. Kars hummed once more, an odd habit of his that you picked up on as he brushed by you, lifting his bare leg into the tub. You blushed and quickly looked away as his large body entered the tub. You'd never been this close to a naked man before, let alone bathed one. You awkwardly stood to the side of the tub, trying to look everywhere but at the man in front of you. "You may begin." He said, an annoyed tone lacing his voice. You looked around for something to scrub with, a brush or sponge of some sort, but found nothing. You blinked as you realized that you'd have to reach over him to be able to grab one of the soap bars, either that or disturb him and ask for him to hand it to you; something told you the latter was the wrong answer. You chanced a glance at him, seeing that his eyes were actually closed as he leaned back in the tub, arms resting on the rim, a content smirk on his lips. You quickly reached for the bar of soap, managing to snag it without disrupting him. You dipped the bar into the water, lathering it up a bit with you hand before kneeling beside the tub, praying that the last moments of your life wouldn't be bathing Kars before him killing you.

You started at his shoulder, rubbing it with you hand as well as the soap bar, scrunching your nose as the foamy bubbles turn a sickening pink shade as they mingled with the blood on his pale skin. You cupped some water in you hand and carefully rinsed his shoulder, revealing the parts you'd missed still flecked with blood. You once again carefully scrubbed at his chiseled shoulder, enjoying the warm water on your hands. The entire place was always freezing, so this was, in an odd way, kind of nice; the warm water, not bathing a god-like vampire. He'd occasionally let out a deep hum of approval, apparently enjoying this, which caused your face to turn a deep shade of red at the intimate noise. You moved down to his large bicep, running your soapy hands over its contours, inwardly marveling at its size. You attempted to move his limp arm a bit, trying to get at the underside, but couldn't even hardly budge it. He took notice, cracking one amused eye open as he chuckled. "So weak." He remarked as he lifted his arm, allowing you to scrub it. You quickly scrubbed your way down his arm, working down to his hand, which was almost comically bigger than your own. You soaped your hands up before setting the soap bar down on the ledge, and working the soap onto his hand. You felt the muscles in his hand rolling under your thumb as you applied pressure, trying to scrub he blood from his hand.

A deep throaty moan escaped his lips, causing you to quickly drop your hands from his at the lewd sound, face turning crimson. Your eyes darted to the side of out sheer embarrassment from the situation. Kars' eye cracked open lazily at the lack of scrubbing.

"Continue." He demanded, his tone serious. You swallowed as you once again lifted your hands to his, massaging the soap in with your thumbs as you did before. His large hands were calloused, well worn from what you assumed was fighting. You cupped water into your hands, rinsing the bubbles from his forearm and hand, revealing his now clean skin; one arm down. You stood, joints popping as you did so, as you moved to the other side of the tub, once again kneeling down and repeating the process with his other arm. It wasn't as bloody as his other one thankfully. Maybe the other one was his dominant hand? You'd never paid enough attention to know which hand was his favored one. You quickly soaped up his shoulder, moving your way down, rinse and repeat. Literally. He continued to occasionally make noises, weather it was just to tease you or genuine you weren't sure. As you finished up his hand you mentally tried to plan what to wash next, your eyes awkwardly scanning the non-offensive parts of his body. He seemed to take note of your internal dilemma and gracefully lifted one of his muscular legs out of the water, resting it on the tub rim, droplets glistening on his pale thigh. You kept your eyes above the water line, blush gracing your features as you scooted down the side of the tub, lathering up your hands once more. Washing his arms was one thing, but washing his legs was a completely different thing. Too intimate for your liking. It was a wonder that Kars was letting you touch him in the first place, but then again he was probably very much enjoying watching you squirm.

You tried and failed to swallow the lump in your throat as you reached down to just above the water line and began scrubbing his thigh. Your eyes flicked upwards, looking towards his face, but not directly at it, surprised to find both his vivid red eyes open and watching you. You quickly turned your head away from him, going back to the task at hand, working your way up to his large foot. As you had with his hands, you applied pressure with your thumbs, massaging the soap and oil into his skin. At least your hands would be soft after this. He retracted his now clean leg back into the water and presented you with the other one, you of course having to switch sides to wash it. You followed the same routine as you had with the other. He let out a hum of approval as he placed his leg back into the water. You rinsed your hands in the warm bathwater, flicking the water droplets off your fingertips. You sat stupidly wondering if that was all he required of you. The blood was all cleaned off, and you weren't about to offer to scrub the more intimate parts of his body. You looked towards him, as if telepathically asking for his next orders.

"Come here." He beckoned you closer to him with his finger. You stood up and walked to where you'd started off at, by his shoulder. He gave you a pointed look, to which you quickly knelt down beside him. "You are to wash my hair and back." He said, sitting upwards a bit in the tub so as to not inhibit your task. You reached over, which was much more frightening this time since Kars was upright and fully alert, watching you with his snake-like gaze, and grabbed the shampoo bottle. Setting it down beside you, you repeated the process one more to retrieve the conditioner vial, hoping Kars didn't notice your hand trembling at the close proximity of your bodies as you practically had to stretch fully over his with yours. Once you had the items in your possession, you positioned yourself behind him, carefully moving his hair aside. You noticed that he'd taken all his usual ornaments off, his circlet, earrings, and gold band that usually held the large braid in his hair. His majestic mane curtained down his back, wispy tips swirling as they dipped into the water.

You cautiously moved his hair to the side, draping it over his shoulder to see the large expanse of his back, each muscle clearly defined and toned. Silver long-since-healed scars criss-crossed along his back, battle scars from days passed. You pursed your lips as you gently placed your hands on his trapezius muscle, soaping it up before using your thumbs to work the muscle, unsure how or why this had turned into a haphazard massage session as opposed to a strict bathing, but he seemed to be enjoying it, which you hoped may extend your life for possibly a bit longer. You worked your fingers up around the base of his neck, actually being able to feel tension he pent up there, trying your best to get the muscles to relax. You noticed that he began pushing back against you, as if trying to will your fingers to go deeper. You bit your lip as you applied more pressure, working your way down along his spine. You blushed as you reached down, massaging the dimples in his lower back. You weren't sure why you were suddenly embarrassed by his backside, the man walked around in nearly nothing on a daily basis.

With his back now scrubbed you gently moved his hair back, fingers accidentally grazing his neck as he practically purred at the touch. This task would have been much easier if you could just dunk his head into the bath water to wet it, but something told you that he wasn't about to allow that, also making it challenging for you was fun for him. You cupped both your hands in the water and brought them above the crown of his head, letting it gently cascade down his curls. He tipped his head back a bit as to not get water on his face. You repeated the action a few more times until his hair was wet enough, careful to avoid his horns. You'd been curious since you first laid eyes upon him about the three horns that adorned his head, but you certainty weren't about to ask about nor touch them.

You poured some shampoo in your palm and took a deep breath, taking note of the smell of spice from the shampoo. You cautiously reached your hands into his hair, working the lather into his scalp. He groaned and learned into your hands, sending chills down your spine at how odd this whole situation was. You worked your way down his hair, being careful to distribute the shampoo evenly with your hands, running your fingers through to get rid of any tangles you may have caused. Once you were satisfied with that, you once more cupped your hands in the water and began to rinse the bubbles from his hair. It took a good bit of effort to get all the soap out, but you managed. You took note that the conditioner had a similar scent before you began to gently apply to his hair. You inwardly wondered if your hair would look this luxurious if you used the same products, or if he just naturally had nice hair. You once again rinsed the product from his hair, running your hands through it, making sure not to pull it or cause him any harm; he'd probably kill you on the spot. You put the shampoo and conditioner bottle back on the small shelf, moving to also put the soap bar back before Kars' hand shot out fast as a viper strike, latching into your wrist. You whimpered as he pulled your arm close to him, your body leaning over his. You broke your own rule out of shock as your wide scared eyes met Kars' crimson ones, which seemed to glow in amusement at your fear. Your faces were close, way too close. Your heart was beating against your ribcage, you could only hope that he couldn't hear it, but he could probably feel your pulse as he held your wrist.

"You missed a spot." He said teasingly, eyes half-lidded as brought your hand down to his broad muscular chest. You looked away from him, down at your hand that now was pressed against his body.

"S-sorry, M-My Lord." You stammered out, frightened now more than ever. You tried to calm your breathing as you began washing under his collarbone. He was leaned in towards you, just watching you with a cruel smile. You worked your way down to his Pectoral muscles, bottom lip thoroughly clamped between your teeth, as you ignored him humming if your ear, feeling the vibrations travel down your spine. You ignored the urge to clamp your eyes shut as you just focused on washing and trying to breath. Keeping your eyes strictly above the water line, your hands moved downwards, feeling his abs against your hands. In a different world, with a different person, this would have been any girls dream; for you, in this world, this was a nightmare. Lord Kars must have noticed your eyes not roaming, trying to keep a shred of morality in your now sad existence. He chucked, his breath tickling your ear. You kept your head low as you finished washing his body, or as much of it was you were going to willingly wash without him physically intervening. Your whole body tensed as he reached up and grabbed your chin, turning your head to look at him. He was so close. One hand was resting on his lower abs, the other locked onto the side of the tub, knuckles white, bracing you from falling in. Your mouth went dry as he licked his lips. The back of your eyes stung with unshed tears as you looked at his red hued gaze, his eyes hungry for who knows what. He brushed his large thumb across your jaw, your body beginning to shake from both having to hold yourself up in your current awkward position as well as fear.

"Such a sad small creature you are." He said, leaning in and placed a gently kiss over your neck. This was it he was going to kill you right here right now. You screwed your eyes shut, awaiting death. He hummed against your pulse, placing an open mouth kiss over it, teeth barely grazing your skin. You couldn't hold back the squeak that emanated from your lips in protest to movements. He drug the flat of his tongue up the side of your throat before retracting it back into his mouth. He rubbed his thumb against your bottom lip as he chuckled in amusement. You felt his grip on your chin tighten as you felt his breath ghost over your lips. Tears were welled up in your closed eyes, threatening to spill out should they open. He released your chin and you began to mentally thank every deity you could recall as you quickly shrank away from his grasp, quickly wiping away the tears that fell as you opened your eyes.

"You're dismissed." He said, watching you as you quickly stood and practically ran out of the room to get as much distance between you and him as you possibly could. He laughed to himself, having found a new source of entertainment. Humans were always such fun.

Hi, I'm Icee and I ignore writing my fanfiction to write a fanfiction, then ignore that fanfiction to write a shitty one-shot.

Uhhhhh, this is what happens when you love Red Dead Redemption 2 and Asshole villains.

Kars probably isn't in character, and this is probably straight unedited garbage, buuuuut maybe someone out there will enjoy my garbage.

I feel like my other story is too dialogue heavy so I wanted to try to make something with minimal dialogue.

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net