From hate to love (BxB) COMPLETED √

Chapter 19: Always lean on me

Kristof woke up from the unpleasant feeling of something nibbling on his leg. He could never get used to this; these painful stings of little teeth that tried to rip off pieces of his flesh.

He kicked the rats away, as he sat in the dark, not knowing how long he'd been imprisoned already. It could have been weeks, it could have been months. It felt like months.

Three times a day, he got a plate of gruesome porridge, and some water. He was still wearing the blue suit he wore at the ball. The navy color was now dirty, more of a shade of brown from all the filth. It also had holes where the rats had chewed through the silk.

Kristof sat alone in the tiny prison cell. He had no one to talk to and even though that seemed lonely, it was actually something considered fortunate. He could have shared a cell with twenty others, pissing and shitting in the same corner. So he had it good.

He'd cried his eyes out the first few days of his imprisonment. Not only because he ended up in this place and had to miss Armin, but also because a young man had died by his hands. He knew it was an accident, but it still felt so wrong.

When the police took him in, Armin screamed and cried. It was horrible! People assured both of them that Kristof would be released very soon, but he was still held prisoner. Kristof knew the noblemen were stalling time to think of a way to get rid of him. Maybe they were even trying to cut deals with the judges!

He didn't even know when his trial would be. That alone could take months. He wasn't allowed to see anyone. And, oh, how he missed his Armin! Every night, he dreamt he would lie in Armin's warm arms. And every time, he woke up in this cold moist place, without the comfort of Armin's soft hands around him. It was horrible.

"Oh Armin..." he whispered. He wished to know how his husband was doing.

All of a sudden, he heard footsteps. They stopped in front of his door. The lock opened. That had never happened before. Food and drinks were always shoved through a hatch, never had the door been opened.

Kristof stood up, waiting for what would come.

The jailer appeared. "You are free to go. King's order," the man said.

"W-what?" Kristof asked. Were his ears playing tricks on him?

"You can go. Orders from the King," the jailor said once more.

Kristof couldn't believe it. Why would the King let him go?

A frightening feeling crawled over his skin.

"Oh, Armin..."

What had he done to get Kristof out?

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Armin was desperate. His husband was being held for over three weeks already. He wasn't allowed to talk to him, or to see him. Not even to write him a letter!

"What should I do?" he cried in his room, sitting on the bed, his knees pulled against his chest.

His lawyer was stuck and waiting, nobody worked along. The mine was closed by police orders and it would remain closed until the trial was held. But the trial wasn't held because everything was going so slow. Too slow!

Armin couldn't take it anymore! Every day, that fateful day was haunting his mind. The day that his former lover lay dead on the floor in a puddle of blood, stabbed by his husband. By accident! Kristof went with the police officers that night and then never came back!

The last few weeks were hell. Armin had lost a lot of weight. He couldn't eat. He didn't sleep. He looked like a ghost, pale and sick. Everybody in the castle was depressed. Armin missed Kristof so much. They all missed the good master. And they were so afraid the man was suffering in prison.