Work Text:
Gascon didn't know where to go. He had left with a plan, but he didn't know the places he was going to.
(He missed his baby brother.)
He ran into an alley. He was scared. He had no money left. A man approached. He offered safety. He offered shelter. Gascon took what he could get, for the first time in his life.
(He didn't want to.)
Gascon was safe. But he was still scared. The man brought him to a group, in the sewers. They offered him a home, as long as he helped them. They only made him clean. It was ok.
(He wondered if they would make him do more. Cleaning wasn't worth much, back home. Most cleaners in the palace worked backbreaking hours.)
They were criminals. Gascon wanted to leave. But they promised him it wasn't bad. It was only what they had to do to survive. Survival is acceptable to hurt for.
(Right?)
They were kind. Most of the time. When he didn't act up. When he didn't ask questions. When they weren't kind, they were worse than his father. But they were better than him most of the time.
(He didn't want to stay with them. But who else would be kind to a runaway brat?)
They wanted him to help. They promised it was nothing. Just a small robbery, a few crates of food. Nothing else. But he had to change his name. He chose Swaine. He'd like to remember the man who had helped him and his brother. The lady who led them took from the safe too. Gascon- Swaine, didn't miss how it was empty.
(Why were they stealing from someone with nothing. It was wrong. But they said it was ok. Gasco- Swaine, was still scared of them.)
They kept bringing him along to help. They started hurting people. Sometimes they laughed while they did it. They asked Gasc- Swaine, to help, and hurt him when he didn't.
(There was a man who smiled at him when he was forced to hurt him. Gas- Swaine's, nightmares got worse.)
One day they asked him to kill someone. Ga- Swaine, couldn't. He didn't want to risk taking someone away from someone they loved. He couldn't stop seeing their targets- their victims- as his little brother. Once they stopped trying to make him shoot the poor kid, they apologized for trying to make him do it.
(Their apology didn't stop them from not feeding G- Swaine.)
Swaine needed to leave. He needed to go. He didn't want to stay again. He had run away before. As a prince, as someone wholly well known and gotten away easily. He could do it again.
(Swaine misses Marcassin. Swaine misses Gascon.)