...was he kidding him? The Doctor glanced up at the Master and raised an eyebrow. Probably not. Some things apparently never changed. Alright, how far did his pride go? Too far, he knew, mornfully wishing he could keep the skin on his back. Entirely too far. This wasn't something he'd ever do, not when the only thing at risk was his own safety. But sometimes it really would be awfully convenient to be just a bit more of a coward.
"Oh, well," he said instead with a slight shrug and a pleasant smile. "Twelve it is then! When are we doing this?"
"No? Was that a no? Well, isn't that unfortunate. There's an extra strike penalty so I'm afraid that's actually thirteen," Marcus shot back childishly because he rather hated when people were stubborn like that. And besides, he was very willing to see just what it would take to get the Doctor to actually do it. After five strikes, he was sure he'd have John curled up weeping in pain. Or more he desired to see that at least.
"I will be generous, however. If at any point during the punishment you wish to stop at ten, you're allowed to ask permission to stop and kneel in front of me, swearing yourself. If not, we'll keep going," Marcus moved towards the Doctor, grabbing his coat and forcefully hauling him up and onto his feet. "We will start after lunch. I do love a little afternoon entertainment."
"Thirteen. Lucky number." Or not so much. He was slightly shaky on his legs, almost asking whether 'after lunch' actually meant that he'd get lunch. However, then he realized the likelihood of him being able to keep whatever lunch down after a vigorous whipping was rather low, so he decided not to ask and keep being hungry instead. He wondered if there was anything he could do to just not get punished, but he'd never been any good at that.
"Thank you ever so. That's all very generous of you."
"Guards!" Marcus called out over the Doctor's thanks, holding him still till two very large and armed men arrived to grab a hold of the Doctor. With a bright grin, Marcus reached out and patted John's face, clearly much happier now they'd had this talk. "Get this one ready. After dinner, he'll be whipped 13 times."
Then, with a slight moment of thought, he cocked his head to the side and inspected the Doctor. "I suppose afterwards you can bind his arms and leave him in my room. I still have to finish our discussion." And, with that, Marcus retreated from the room, eager to find out what was going to be lunch today.
Getting his arms bound behind himself after a whipping really was unnecessary cruel. He was glad that his back had been treated and bandaged at least, definitely more than most people here got. That was what pained him more than anything right now anyway, even as he laid on his stomach with his back feeling raw and on fire. All those others and he could do nothing to help him.
He had to find a way to fix this. Somehow. As soon as he managed to move without ripping his back open again.
When Marcus finally arrived, he was certainly in good spirits. And more than a little later than he said he'd be when he originally had the Doctor sent ahead. He was only somewhat drunk on all the wine he'd had post the execution of that rather poor cook who'd served them such a foul lunch. He always did like to make torture and execution into a bit of a party, it made it so much more fun than just sombrely watching people suffer. Looking down at the Doctor, he tutted and bent down, slicing the ropes free with his knife, just so they were no longer bound behind his back.
"I did say tie them in front," Marcus complained as he sat on the floor besides is injured new acquaintance, a small playful and almost mocking frown on his face. "I really did think you'd kneel at ten. I was very disappointed, you should know that. Most people don't live if they disappoint their master like that."
The Doctor stretched his arms, carefully, then slowly tried to sit up without starting to cry out in pain or something equally embarrassing. He really wanted to be anywhere else but here, but right now he tried to focus on the small comforts, like the fact that he was actually unbound for the first time since he got here. Hurrah.
"I always keep standing as long as I can." Something the Master would know, but the Roman bloke here... Well, he could learn. It didn't surprise him how happy the Master was after witnessing torture, but it would always horrify him. Always hurt his hearts.
"I noticed it, I do admire it in you," Marcus confessed as he reached out and grasped the Doctor's arm, helping him to sit up without accidentally pulling his skin off the back. The last thing he needed was blood everywhere. The Doctor had impressed him, taking his punishment so boldly. And maybe it was all the wine talking but he was awfully attractive when all hurt and subdued. A great improvement on that rambling moron. Though he did rather like his fanciful tales that made zero sense.
"That's why you get to live. You're the sort of man I like and respect. A very rare thing," Marcus hauled himself upright, clambering over the Doctor's unsteady sitting form to get to his bed, dropping onto the plush and pleasant mattress with a contented sigh. "If you're capable of actually moving, you can come on the bed."
"I don't think coming on the bed is happening, in any sense." For one thing, the bed was entirely too far away. He already regretted even having wanted to sit up, if he was quite honest. But he couldn't really afford to show too much weakness to a fobwatched Master, not under any circumstances as long as he could help it. It couldn't lead anywhere good, not with the Master being like this.
"I think everyone deserves respect. Every living thing." Somehow everything always boiled down to the same arguments between them.
"Nonsense. A lowly plebeian toiler has nothing on a ruler like myself. I would deserve more respect, I am vastly more important," Marcus insisted with a frown on his face, entirely baffled by this liberal nonsense. In what universe did everyone deserve respect? Certainly not his. With a sulking expression, the Master rolled to the edge of the bed, head just hanging over it as he glared at the Doctor. He didn't seem in the playing mood now, what with the injury and all. So he supposed they only had talking.
"You can't honestly tell me everyone deserves respect, that's just nonsense. And not just everyone, wasn't it? Every thing. Like animals? Plants? Now that's definitely stupid."
"Of course they do. If it weren't for them we'd all starve and, well. Suffocate, to be honest, which isn't really what anyone wants. It's all part of the circle of life." The Doctor frowned for a moment, then his face cleared up as he remembered. Right, The Lion King! Of course, that's what he was thinking of. He'd really have to watch that again when he got back to the TARDIS.
"You could have been born someone else. What would that make you then, unimportant? It'd still be you." He paused for a moment, but in the end he smiled. "I'd still think you important."
"I wasn't born anywhere else, I was born here. This is who I am, I have only one life, one set of parents and one name," Marcus felt he had to reassert that because for whatever reason, the Doctor made him feel nervous on the matter. The way he kept questioning him like this, it was unsettling. "It's not a proper argument, I am here now and that's all that matters. And I am more important than those poor uneducated fools."
He did, however, pause at that last bit. It was strange, this man seemed to disapprove of him yet ... almost like him. And he wasn't sure what to do with that. Why was this odd man so hard to understand. "You'd think I was important even if I was the poorest in all of the kingdom? John, if you believe that then you are clearly mad."
"Well, then maybe I just might be mad. You're important because of who you are, not what you are. Whether you're rich, poor or absolutely uneducated." The Doctor folded his legs and shifted a little, mindful of his back. It was the kind of thing that was hard to forget. "And even someone stupid, poor and ignorant matters, in the very grand scheme and in the small one, because every person stands at the center of their own universe. There's a lot of beauty in that."
"No there isn't," Marcus said bluntly as he rolled himself off his bed and landed beside the Doctor, not impressed that his new toy was being so boring. With a sigh, he purposefully came in front of the Doctor, almost crawling into his lap. He only resisted because he didn't want to risk knocking him over. They were either going to have an interesting conversation or fuck. One or the other. But he didn't spare this ones life for a lecture. "Tell me something interesting. Something fun! I don't care who's equal or who's special. Only I am in here! So amuse me."
Truth was, he almost expected the Master to crawl into his lap, but he relaxed when he stopped in front of him, catching his eyes and... Well. Then the talking somehow just happened. "Do you like looking at the sky, Master? All those stars. Every single one of them with a story to tell and some of them with their own people living on them, looking up at their sky from somewhere else entirely." He wet his lips before he continued, but didn't take the time to overthink it. "Have you ever imagined a sky with two suns in it?"
"The sky?" Not really, no. He dreamt of stars often but he rarely gazed at them, they always felt him feeling so small. He didn't like that, he wanted to stand out, not get frowned under the vast and endless majesty of the universe. With a frown, Marcus sat back, leaning against the back of the bed as he watched the Doctor. "A sky with two suns? Well... no. I imagine that'd be very warm though. And too bright. Why would a sky have more than one sun? Wouldn't that be a bad thing?"
"Well, you'd have to take some precautions I imagine. And the sky might be red. But I'm sure people born under two suns, they can figure it out. They've got to be bright." The Doctor raised an eyebrow, at least entertaining himself here. "And if it is too hot, if it's not nice enough to stay there forever, maybe that'd be a reason to find ways to visit other places. Ships that can sail through the sky, all the way to whatever star catches your fancy, just to see how beautiful it might be up close."
"You talk some nonsense, don't you? Ships in space and planets with two suns? I very much doubt there is much up there but what we know," Marcus insisted stubbornly for no other reason than the fact that it was easier to believe that. The only reason he'd like to go up there would be to further his empire. Conquer the sun in the name of Rome and Gaius Marcus Augustus. What a thing to have in his legacy. "I would very much like if there was, however. Imagine it? I could steal all the stars and take any planet I wanted. My empire would be the grandest there was."
"Yeah, but what would you do with it? Keep people from looking at the stars like I'm not allowed to say your name?" The Doctor shook his head slightly, regretting it immediately because, well, his back was a mess. He continued talking to, aware that his eyes must hold some sadness by now, because his hearts certainly did. So many years and still the Master talked like this. When would he ever learn? "I'm sorry, but in that case I'm glad you can't do that. I like the sky. I like lying in the grass with someone special to me and looking up as if we could go anywhere."
"If I want them and I can have them then why wouldn't I take them? Others can see. If they give me a good reason to show them," the way that John looked was strangely disheartening, he seemed so sad at the idea of not being able to see the stars. Why? Did he really mind that much if Marcus was to steal them. With a frown, he tilted his head back, feeling a little annoyed that John hadn't applauded his plan. "Well, you can't go anywhere. Not now, not ever. You're mine now so you have to stay here with me."
Yes, that came out more childishly than he intended but he didn't like all the fantasy nonsense. But, well, he guessed he could kind of see it. With an annoyed huff, he dropped his head back down to look at John. "I'd let you see them even if I stole them. Is that better?"
That rather passionate declaration of ownership just had the Doctor raise his eyebrows. No use arguing that point, especially not while his back was still raw and also because he supposed according to Roman law the Master wasn't really wrong, as such. But it was a bit of an echo anyway, things so similar to what Koschei might have said once upon a time. He wondered how the Master would feel about this part when he remembered.
"Thank you. That's very kind of you, Master." And his sarcasm was just about undetectable. "Is there nothing you want to do apart from owning and ruling?"
It took Marcus a moment to contemplate that idea, face scrunched up in an effort to try and think passed ruling things and owning whatever he wanted but there wasn't much. He had once wanted a wife but he'd soon tired of her. And he did want an heir but children repulsed him so he opted otherwise. Once he did like the idea of travelling more but his first trip across the ocean nearly ended in his death so he'd decided otherwise.
After a few moments, he looked back at the Doctor and shrugged. "I'd quite like silence. But that isn't an achievable goal. And I'm not actually that certain I would want it. I think it'd just be nice to not have a headache," he rolled his neck, trying to think of something else he wanted. "I think I'd liked to -- erm, well, I don't know."
"Well." Alright, that got more depressing than he'd meant for it to be. "Don't worry about it. You're still young." He tried an encouraging smile and, after a moment's hesitation, even a pat on the Master's shoulder. There, there. Some day he'd discover something aside from megalomania, he was sure. "Everyone needs a hobby. Even all important men."
"I have hobbies," Marcus snapped and, in spite and nothing else, he reached out and purposefully slapped a hand on the Doctor's back. Not too hard, he didn't want to open the wounds or anything, he just wanted him to hurt. For being like this and bringing up these kind of topics. He didn't want to discuss these kind of things. "I don't need you here to judge me, I'm perfectly fine. You're the pathetic one, you're nothing but a slave. What kind of life is that? What kind of achievement? You're absolutely nothing and you're trying to judge me?"
"I don't judge, Master." At least he knew he shouldn't, so there was that. "I'm the Doctor. I just try to help." And right now he pulled his hand back and looked down at it and vouched not to reach out to the Master again any time soon. Seemed entirely too risky. However, he did look up, his expression curious rather than offended. "Does it make you feel better? To see me as pathetic?" For all he knew, it probably did. He could relate to that more than he'd strictly like to admit to. Sometimes they had entirely too much in common.
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"Oh, well," he said instead with a slight shrug and a pleasant smile. "Twelve it is then! When are we doing this?"
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"I will be generous, however. If at any point during the punishment you wish to stop at ten, you're allowed to ask permission to stop and kneel in front of me, swearing yourself. If not, we'll keep going," Marcus moved towards the Doctor, grabbing his coat and forcefully hauling him up and onto his feet. "We will start after lunch. I do love a little afternoon entertainment."
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"Thank you ever so. That's all very generous of you."
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Then, with a slight moment of thought, he cocked his head to the side and inspected the Doctor. "I suppose afterwards you can bind his arms and leave him in my room. I still have to finish our discussion." And, with that, Marcus retreated from the room, eager to find out what was going to be lunch today.
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He had to find a way to fix this. Somehow. As soon as he managed to move without ripping his back open again.
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"I did say tie them in front," Marcus complained as he sat on the floor besides is injured new acquaintance, a small playful and almost mocking frown on his face. "I really did think you'd kneel at ten. I was very disappointed, you should know that. Most people don't live if they disappoint their master like that."
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"I always keep standing as long as I can." Something the Master would know, but the Roman bloke here... Well, he could learn. It didn't surprise him how happy the Master was after witnessing torture, but it would always horrify him. Always hurt his hearts.
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"That's why you get to live. You're the sort of man I like and respect. A very rare thing," Marcus hauled himself upright, clambering over the Doctor's unsteady sitting form to get to his bed, dropping onto the plush and pleasant mattress with a contented sigh. "If you're capable of actually moving, you can come on the bed."
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"I think everyone deserves respect. Every living thing." Somehow everything always boiled down to the same arguments between them.
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"You can't honestly tell me everyone deserves respect, that's just nonsense. And not just everyone, wasn't it? Every thing. Like animals? Plants? Now that's definitely stupid."
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"You could have been born someone else. What would that make you then, unimportant? It'd still be you." He paused for a moment, but in the end he smiled. "I'd still think you important."
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He did, however, pause at that last bit. It was strange, this man seemed to disapprove of him yet ... almost like him. And he wasn't sure what to do with that. Why was this odd man so hard to understand. "You'd think I was important even if I was the poorest in all of the kingdom? John, if you believe that then you are clearly mad."
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Yes, that came out more childishly than he intended but he didn't like all the fantasy nonsense. But, well, he guessed he could kind of see it. With an annoyed huff, he dropped his head back down to look at John. "I'd let you see them even if I stole them. Is that better?"
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"Thank you. That's very kind of you, Master." And his sarcasm was just about undetectable. "Is there nothing you want to do apart from owning and ruling?"
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After a few moments, he looked back at the Doctor and shrugged. "I'd quite like silence. But that isn't an achievable goal. And I'm not actually that certain I would want it. I think it'd just be nice to not have a headache," he rolled his neck, trying to think of something else he wanted. "I think I'd liked to -- erm, well, I don't know."
Oh. Well. He hadn't realised that before.
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