Chapter Text
Two things can be heard whenever a certain cell is visited. Screamed in brilliant agony, blasting through the air like a trumpet. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? WHAT DO YOU WANT OF ME, PLEASE, PLEASE, WHY?"
It took two fingers, then another. One toe and a permanently lame foot. Then it took castration before the screaming questions stopped. It took a new name before begging for death stopped. "You are no longer a man, we know you are not a woman...we shall have to call you an It. Go ahead, smile at my joke, Reek. Smile. Now"
When Reek tried to smile, that is when the hammer came, shattering teeth and teaching a bloody lesson. Most of the cell lessons were bloody and very effective. Reek was so injured, so broken and weak, it no longer cared that it was a freakish creature. By the time it learned to crawl, to kneel and timidly speak to its Master, it only knew the Reek it was now.
The first time Lord Ramsay took his new pet out of the cell, it whimpered and sobbed. Pale, gaunt and shaking, led on a leash as Reek crawled in a freakish parody of a dog, all eyes were on the stinking horror. It did not care for the others at all, Reek was keeping its eyes on the Master, so terrified of the pain of a mistake. Without a pause, Ramsay walked through the halls and outdoors, grinning at the stunned looks at his creation. Ramsay walked slow enough that his creature could keep up, but fast enough that it would make Reek struggle for it. Finally, Ramsay reached the kennels, where Ben grimaced and backed up to fresher air. "Seven hells, milord! What the hell is that? Smells worse then the dogs after they have rolled in guts and shit!" Laughing, Ramsay yanked the leash harshly, dragging the tired pet closer. "This is my new bitch, it's name is Reek. I see you can tell why the name fits. Little Reek has been a very slow learner, but it has learned enough to earn the kennels. Just treat it like another of the dogs, Ben."
Ben knew his Lord long enough to grumble about it, but would not dare to say no. So Ramsay left Reek in the kennel master's care. Grabbing the leash, he dragged the creature into the kennels. "You stay right there, stinking fucker, move and I'll get my strap!" Ben threatened Reek, then dropped the leash, heading further into kennels. When he came back, the cringing pet was still as if frozen, eyes streaming with tears. "At least you are obedient." Ben muttered as he dumped two buckets of freezing water on the stinking creature. Reek howled but did not move except for uncontrollable shaking. Roughly, as if this were another of his hounds, Ben soaped, scrubbed and rinsed until Reek no longer made his eyes water. "Ramsay may not care that you fucking stink, but I do. Once you catch the scent of the hounds, we can let you be nice and dirty again. That smell I can tolerate." Ben spoke in the absent minded tone that he always used, he had a habit of constantly talking to the dogs. Reek responded by listening, staying still, even when it was given a quick rub down with an old cloth.
Reek was a good hound. Ben no longer thought of it as anything but a unique form of dog. Reek was an obedient pet. Ramsay thought of Reek as that, an exotic creation that he could play with. Reek was a cowardly freak and that is how it thought of itself.