My return to fanfiction, although nowhere near my former fandoms. I will update this pretty quickly for a while, but then it will even out. I'm going to stay in the zones of safety for FFNet and anything that becomes too 'mature' will be removed from the chapter and a link will be posted to see it elsewhere. It's an AU thatdrivesfor my own self-gratification. Just giving you allfair warning. And also be aware that it is Yuuri/Wolfram, and therefor it is yaoi/slash/shounen ai. Enjoy.

Title: Into the Indefinite Sky
Rating: M (R)
Chapter: Prologue (00) ?
Warnings: Angst, Non-Consensual Sexual themes (referenced/implied), AU, OOC Wolfram, possibly OOC everyone else
Summary:
Wolf had spent his life believing that he was meant for servitude. His master was strict, and often cruel, but he never thought he could be anything more than what he was. One night changes everything and he is thrown into a world that he knows nothing about and given a life he never thought he could have. But a secret he keeps could only throw his life into further turmoil and not to mention the Demon King…

Special Thanks to my Beta: Neko Kate-chan. If you haven't read her story at One Glance, you are missing out. READ IT! But...maybe after you read mine.

Prologue - This is the Life

The slap to the cheek didn't even register until his shock subsided enough to notice the hand at his throat. His breaths came in puffs, but he didn't look up into Master Verik's eyes. He hadn't meant to drop the tray. There hadn't been anything but empty bowls he had collected from the tables, but the noise had disrupted the conversation his master was having with a lady at the table by the bar. The woman had been startled by it and then commented on the lack of proper workers, and how the inn could not afford them.

"You useless idiot!" he snarled at him.

"I am sorry, Master," he implored.

The large hands shook his roughly. "Did I give you permission to speak?" He shook his head, refraining from receiving more ire by answering aloud.

"Such a skittish colt you've got," a man at the table beside them laughed. "Mayhap you've broken him to far?"

He clenched his teeth, unable to defend himself, knowing it was best not to. Master Verik was not known for easy punishments and he had already garnered himself plenty to last the night.

"This is the last straw for you, Green Eyes," Verik hissed. "First you burned the porridge this morning, then you broke two glasses, and now this? What worth are you when all you do is make a mess of things?" This was accompanied by another shake.

"Let the child be," another man, at the same table, said.

"Child?" Verik snorted, all but tossing him to the floor. "This little demon has been nothing but trouble since I got him." He glared at the boy. "What have you to say for yourself?"

The slave winced at his master's words. He hated when Master Verik called him that. He pulled himself to his knees and bowed lowly to the floor. "I am sorry for my continued transgressions, Master," he apologized in a soft voice. "I will make amends in whatever way you ask of me."

"Is that so?" he sneered. "What would you say to me throwing you to the highest bidder, eh? Giving you to someone for the night would be fitting punishment and would earn me quite a take in."

He held his breath, his eyes were wide, and he knew his shoulders were trembling at the thought. He wanted to beg, plead for another option. But such pleas would fall on wickedly deaf ears. A hand grabbed a fistful of his dirty once-fair hair and pulled him upwards. Verik smirked at him before looking around. "How about it? Which fellow would pay to have go at him?" More than a few stood at the offer. The boy clenched his eyes shut to avoid the tears he could feel creeping up on him.

Verik leaned down; whispering in his ear, "Think of it. One of these men holding you down, pushing inside of you, ripping you apart. Oh, he wouldn't be gentle, no; I wouldn't give you to him otherwise. He would have to leave you bleeding, barely alive in the morning. Who knows, I might even let him keep you for a full day."

The tears did come then, he couldn't stop them. He felt cold, even though his face was burning a deep red and it was the middle of the summer. He wanted Master Verik to let go, so that he could run to his cot in the storage room and hide there. Since it was originally a bedroom, the door locked from both the inside and out. It would get him a severe beating, but he would withstand a thousand thrashings to avoid what his master had in mind.

"No," it was sudden. The hand in his hair let go and he dropped back down to the floor. "Sorry my dear men, but this boy isn't up for sale. Although, another day like this and you'll be on the block for the whorehouse in Ganech by nightfall."

This was obviously a dismissal and he took the opportunity to quickly collect the bowls back on the platter and rush through the doors to the kitchen. He set the bowls in the large water tub that was used for washing dishes and clothing before finally reminding himself to breathe. His hands gripped the sides of the basin and his took in deep breaths, unable to calm himself.

"Wolf," He spun his eyes over towards the large stove and the husky, chestnut-haired woman that stood over it. She breached the short distance between them and reached out a calming hand. His flinch almost went unnoticed.

"I-I'm fine, Hilde," he told her, but it was obvious that she didn't believe him. Strong warm arms pulled him close and held him to her healthy bosom.

"It's all right," she cooed. Her voice wasn't the softest or most calming, but the affection and care in her tone was enough to settle his ragged thoughts. "I know it hurts, but…if you can't fix it you've got to stand it. It's the only way you'll get strong enough to leave this place when you have the chance."

The gave a sardonic laugh. "I'm never leaving this place," he stated. "The Great One is punishing me. He'll always punish me. I'm going to die in this place, or one just like it."

"Don't say things like that!" she commanded reproachfully. She moved her hand from his shoulder to his neck and lifted a rope-chain that was wrapped around a simple pink stone, placing it in the boy's line of vision. "Think of your mother, who gave you this necklace. Do you think she would want you to live like this?"

"I wouldn't know," he reminded her, tone cold.

"Would any mother wish this life on her child?" she questioned. "I'm thankful my two girls are grown and married because they deserved better than living here in this wretched place, working hard everyday for next to nothing, save a room and two meals a day. They found their way out and you will, too. You just have to hold on. The Great One doesn't turn his back on good souls."

The boy pulled himself from her embrace and returned to his place at the water basin. He picked up a rag and began to wash the bowls. "I'm a demon and a slave," he told her, eyes directly on his work. "Gods care not for the damned."

She watched him work, his hands efficient and precise, as if he could do the job in his sleep. After how long he had been performing such chores, he probably could. "Your heritage does not define you, Wolf," she told him. "You're heart still beats the same no matter was blood flows through it. You can't let them chain you down this way. You're only as free as the distance your wings can take you."

She received no reply.

Wolf refused to hope. Hope hurt and there was only so much pain his heart could handle anymore. He wanted to get angry, throw something. He knew what awaited him that night and he knew it would leave him all but incapacitated the next morning. Master Verik was very thorough indeed. He would pay dearly for his all of mistakes, but especially for the final one.

And it was all because a man had touched his behind.