The Cotton Field

Raiting: PG-13

Pairing(s): USUK

Warning: This contains somewhat explicit violence, strong language, slavery, racism, sexism, homophobia, domestic abuse, yaoi (boyxboy), and historical inaccuracies (probably a lot of them XP). So basically, this fic is pretty messed up, don't say I didn't warn you, because I just did.

Summery: Arthur Kirkland is a simple colonial aristocrat, but is in need of someone to work his small cotton field. He goes and buys a young man who turns out to be a bit more than he bargained for.

Written by me, edited by Shadow Ginger

By the way, I started this on a different account(isimar), but I moved to this account.

It had been just over a week since 'Master' Arthur Kirkland bought him at the slave auction in town, and he had learned a few things in that time. One being, the master of the house was an uptight ass. Second, the maid there, although really nice, seemed to be keeping an awfully close eye on him. Another thing was that working sucked; he knew that but felt the need to state it. But, all in all, it wasn't all that bad, some days the maid would come and talk to him while he worked, after she had finished her own chores inside the house. She was a really good person, Alfred enjoyed her company; even if it seemed like she was just babysitting him.

Then, there was Arthur Kirkland. He spent his days in his study, and then went to bed late at night. He often wore bags under his bright green eyes, but he rarely did anything else. Alfred often wondered what he did for fun; I mean the guy just sat around all day working. He asked Charlotte this once. All she said was that he read for fun. Alfred couldn't read, but he couldn't imagine sitting around looking at words to be fun. He told her that and she just laughed and said, "That's Master Arthur for you. He seems a bit dull, but he's a fine gentleman once you get to know 'im'."

Today, Arthur was going to town and wouldn't be back until dusk, so Alfred had to prepare a horse to leave that morning. It was easy though, the horses were well trained and really nice; the other day Charlotte brought some carrots out for Alfred to feed them, the horses liked that and Alfred thought they were cool. Anyway, Arthur left by himself, leaving Alfred and Charlotte to do their usual chores, only Charlotte finished earlier today since she wasn't constantly brewing tea for Arthur. Honestly, that man could drink a barrel of tea a day. But since Charlotte finished early, she came out with a cup of tea for both of them and talked to him while he worked.

It was nearly dusk and it was about time for "The Master" to come home. So Alfred made sure they had fresh oats, hay, and water waiting for them when they got back. Now, he was done until he got back. So after a moment he decided to plop down in a nice patch of grass outside and leaned back on the back wall of the old stable, where he had a perfect view of the stars. It brought back memories of long ago when he would look at them with his mother; she would often tell him stories about them or stories of great heroes. When he was little and even now in this situation, all he ever wanted was to be a hero and save others.

Just the thought was enough to make him smile; being a hero that is. A hero could do anything they set their mind to. They could catch falling stars and tame seas and everyone loved them, even if people doubted them at first. His mind was racing about fantastic adventures like a little boy's. With all that rolling through his head, for the first time in a while, Alfred felt free. The cool evening air rolled over him and his imagination pulled him to the sky and beyond.

He closed his eyes, blocking out the world around him to make room for the images in his mind to be clearer. Soon he had almost forgotten the cotton field he had been working in day after day. Then the house was gone too; even the grass he was sitting on was naught but a distant memory. The cheering of others echoed in his mind. Maybe he saved a town from some natural disaster, or caught a thief; even maybe did something and ended up with magical powers that made him super strong and gave him flight. His mind clouded with adventures, but soon it was just clouded and he drifted off to sleep.

"Boy!" Arthur called as he got off his horse and waiting for Alfred to come and take care of the mare, but there was no response or sign of him coming.

"BOY!" He yelled. After still nothing, he sighed in irritation, led the horse into the stable, took the bridal off, and quickly removed the saddle while the horse refueled on hay and water. Damn him if he wasn't going to give that boy a good scolding. He was supposed to wait for him by the stable. "At least he got the food and water ready," He sighed.

Speaking of that boy, where was he? After giving the mare a pat on the head, he walked out of the stable. He took a few steps outside when he heard a small snore and after following it behind the stable, he found Alfred leaning against it, dead asleep. His seemingly young face was coated in dirt and his hands where callused and rough from work. His eyes traced his star lit form. He had never noticed it before, but Alfred was fairly muscular, wasn't he? For an unknown reason, he blushed at the thought and tried to shake it out of his head. But, somehow or another, he couldn't, and the thought grew, and he couldn't deny that he wasn't attractive…

He quickly forced the thoughts out of his mind.

"Hey, boy! If you're going to sleep, do it in your room!" He shouted down at the other, making him wake up with a jump, making him fall over on his side, "And next time, do your job and take care of the horse whenever I come back from town!"

Alfred looked up to see Arthur glaring at him (what a surprise), and gave a slight glare back (it was kind of hard to glare for he was still half-asleep). He rubbed his tired blue eyes, and without another word, went back to the servant's quarters, where he quickly fell back to sleep. Arthur, who was almost as exhausted, headed back inside, still thinking about him. He made his way to his study where Charlotte and a cup of perfectly brewed tea waited for him at his desk.

Charlotte curtsied, "Welcome home, Master Arthur. May I ask how your day was in town?"

Arthur was snapped out of his thoughts, "Huh? Oh, yes. It was lively as usual, everyone is getting worked up about all the taxes and what not."

"It's no wonder, they keep getting higher," She modestly replied.

"It's just a phase, I'm sure it will soon pass and we can get on with our busy lives…" He mumbled as he took a sip of tea, "And how was your day?"

"Oh, lovely, today's weather was favorable, so after I was done I had a cup of tea outside," She smiled, then slowly continued, "Me and Alfred chatted for a while he worked. He seems like such a sweet young man, and it seems he has yet to have a dampened mood."

"Is that, so?" He murmured into his tea, "Speaking of him, his clothes seem a bit too worn. When do you think you could whip up some new ones? I can't have anyone on my property walking around in rags."

She nodded "Immediately sir."

"Alright then. I suppose I should head off to bed," He stood from his wooden chair at his desk, "Good night then, Ms. Charlotte."

"Good night," She smiled and followed him out the room, both heading towards their respective rooms to sleep.

"Here," Charlotte's arms were held out in front of her with folded cloth, carefully sewn into clothes for Alfred, "Try these on, I want to make sure they fit you properly."

"Huh?" Alfred rubbed his half-lidded eyes. The young man was about to go to bed after another long, hot day of work."Clothes?"

"Yes, Master Arthur asked me to make them for you. Your clothes are long overdue to be replaced," She gestured to Alfred's outfit. His shirt was nearly falling apart, the seams were coming undone at the shoulders and holes littered the cloth. His pants were missing buttons as well as the hem on the bottom of the legs being worn completely to shreds.

"Oh, but I like these. They're comfortable and those look a little too stiff to work in…" Alfred pouted as she held the clothing out for him to take.

She sighed, "I promise, it'll be better than what you are wearing now. So please try it on? I just need you to tell me if I need to adjust anything."

He lazily fidgeted for a moment, then took the clothes from the elderly woman.

"Alright…" He turned around and entered the servant's quarters and quickly striped out of his current clothing and pulled on the new ones that were just finished being made, most likely, not minutes before she brought them to him. He stretched his arms above his head, testing the sleeves to see how far they move, then twisted his sore waist to do the same for the base of the shirt, which fit quite well. Charlotte was amazing at guessing. His new pants fit perfectly too, he soon found out. He walked around for a moment and opened the door to find Charlotte waiting patiently for him.

"Well, ain't you somethin'? One change of clothes and, if I didn't know any better, I might have thought you and Master Arthur were siblings!" She covered her heart in emphasis.

Alfred's face turned into a skeptical one. He then smirked.

"Ya, I'm sure we look exactly alike, maybe I could get away with trading places and making him do all the work for a change," He laughed.

She let out a small giggle at the thought of Arthur actually getting his hands dirty with work while Alfred sat at a desk working quietly.

"Yes, I suppose that would be a sight. Does it fit well?"

"Ya ya, it fits perfectly. Thanks for the new clothes," He smiled like a child. He then looked down at the clothes he was wearing; she really did put a lot of care into making these for him. The cloth was just some spare stuff she had lying around, but the stitching was done with her years of expertise, and it was really comfortable, despite the almost formal appearance.

"You are very welcome, now be careful and don't let that tear, ya' hear?" She waved her finger in front of him like a mother lecturing a child.

"I'll try, but no promises," He laughed, earning him a caring scowl from the elderly woman.

"Well, we both best be off to bed," She sighed and ruffled his hair unexpectedly, then her eyes grew large, as if realizing something. Then, without another word, she turned tail and ran back to her room, leaving Alfred well dressed, but utterly confused.

"That… Was sorta weird…" He mumbled. He shook his head off and went back into the small room, where he knew he was going to sleep, wake up and repeat his boring and tedious day all over again. But, as soon as his tired eyes closed, he didn't care. Someday, as he had always been told, there would be a better tomorrow.