Kidnapped | Snake and Sinclair

Snake laughed heartily with the other young, robust stallions, their amusement rising as the mare was struck down. They were like vultures, the lot of them, bright eyes gleaming and long necks arched, ready to tear apart a carcass. Except it wasn’t a carcass, it was a mare. To them, however, it made little difference. She was a brood. Her only purpose was to pleasure stallions and carry on their bloodlines with fresh colts.

Slowly, they crept from the shadows, surrounding the mare and their leader, nodding and jeering at the sullen form that lay crumpled in the dust. Surely she had more pluck than this? She would need it if she were to be their new plaything. Their cruel laughs echoed eerily through the ravaged labyrinth that surrounded them. Crumbling walls encircled the small herd and cracked pavement served as their footing. Snake dared to step closer than the others, neck outstretched that he might have a closer examination of their quarry. The bay lashed out at him and Snake shrank back, knowing his leader would claim the right to her first.

She may be underage, but the hot-blooded, wild minded youths cared little for their seniors’ trivial rules. The bay shouted something at his followers, but Snake wasn’t really listening, he was watching the mare with an intense, hungry gaze. He deemed her a fairly pretty brood, those spring green eyes having captured his interest. A sort of cruel curiosity orbited his thoughts. What would she be like broken? Would those bright green eyes lose their spirited fire?

The gang started to close in like a pack of wolves, some of them testing out the mare’s durability by lunging in for a quick nip to her flank or feigning a kick just for the fun of it. Some just leered from the shadow’s enjoying the show. “Hey now, Princess.” Snake called in his casual tone. He had a sort of affinity with pet names and almost never called to someone with their given title. It was always love, doveling, or something of that likeness. “We just want to play.” He cooed, an undertone of menace in his honey coted words. “It’ll be more fun if we try and get along.” He chuckled along with the other bachelors, their eyes gleaming in the waning light and the X’s on their foreheads a glaring reminder of their birthright.

{404 words}

Snake lingered at the fringes of the congregation. Watching. He would take his turn eventually, but he would wait until she was too broken to fight him off. He didn’t fancy the thought of being kicked and bitten by an angry brood. For now, he would enjoy the show. Apparently, he hadn’t anything better to do with his time than harass helpless young mares. Her desperate cries and fumbling insults did little to penetrate his stony exterior or fill him with any sense of mercy. His bachelor mindset was clear. Stallions were the dictating gender.

Slowly, his amusement began to wane and he bored of this tiresome game. The others were much too noisy and the mare’s voice was starting to irritate him. With a placid flick of his ears Snake slipped away for a brief respite from the rumpus, his spotted form vanishing into the shadowy ruins, unnoticed by the other stallions. But even here he found little to appease him. Their raucous whinnies and stamping hooves only echoed after him, as if he were surrounded by an invisible congregation of young equines. He sighed. What did a stallion have to do around here to get a bit of rest? Eventually, though, the turmoil dimmed down and his sensitive ears could only pick up the muffled reverberations of whatever aftermath remained.

The others were surely done with her by now. He ambled back, his pace steady and unhurried. The full moon cast an eerie, silvery glow upon the earth, lighting his way. He was close now…the stallion paused, his attention snagged by a cluster of deep purple violets budding from a crevice in one of the weather worn walls. He stretched out his neck, reaching for the lovely flowers and managed to grip a few of their short stalks between his teeth. He tugged them down, causing a shower of soil to sprinkle into his eyes. He shook his head, snorting. These had better be worth it.

Just as he had suspected, his fellow associates had finished their business with the brood and left her lying in the dust, bruised and broken. They had flocked together for warmth and like-minded companionship on the opposite end of the clearing amid all the rubble. One might think they had completely forgotten the mare if they didn’t keep glancing over now and then to make sure she wasn’t trying to flee. His nonchalant expression transformed into its usual smirk as he neared the brood, watching carefully for signs of life. Her ribcage rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Aw good. They hadn’t killed her. He bent his neck, his muzzle nearly touching her own as he placed the violets before her. “For you, Princess.” His gesture might have been sweet if his voice weren’t so cold. He doubted she had enough energy left to offer much of a fight, but he would keep a sharp eye out just in case. Still smirking, the youth walked in a slow circle around his quarry. “What’s wrong Princess?” he cooed, his voice soothing. He wanted her to look at him, he was still curious about those fiery green eyes from earlier. “It’s a beautiful night. Do you see the moon?” Tone was casual tone was to familiar as he inclined is head to stare at the pearly orb, as though their circumstances were perfectly normal, that she were some old friend of his perhaps.

{580}