Chapter 11: Ch. 11: Special Treat
It had been three weeks since we were given our jobs. Richie seemed to be loving his easy life in the palace, while I on the other hand was getting my butt kicked with drill-after-drill. At first, it seemed almost magical being in the arena. I was surrounded by scores of stone-tier seating, calming blue sky, and towering columns creating a golden square dome. It was almost blindingly beautiful compared to the gloom and muck I was used to in my homeland. But quickly the beauty began to fade. Day-after-day of non-stop running, sparring, and sand began to weigh heavy on my entire body. After one night of an especially grueling drill, I headed back to the lodgings with my fellow comrades. I was beginning to get used to the group of about fifty men. They were all young and eager to show what they could do for their empire.
While we were eating, Captain Sarce entered the dining hall. Each of us scurried to scarf down what was in our mouths before standing at attention.
"Alright boys, you get a special treat tomorrow. The King is in need of some entertainment for the delegates of Crawfond. Negotiations have it that our city will provide a quality show, and in return Crawfond will assist with supplementing our female stock. Keep in mind, the King's women will be in the podium tomorrow, so you may all want to take a peek at what rewards could await you if you excel in battle. I will call out the top ten men from our training the last couple of weeks. Those that are called will compete in the arena for the King's enjoyment. Everyone else will only get to watch, sorry to say."
The men surrounding me started to mumble, trying to guess who the top ten would be. After getting the hall to quite back down, the Captain began to list the names. As each name was called, the man would step forward to stand in front of the guard. Halfway through I hear 'Ezran of Isotope' and briefly couldn't believe my ears. 'I'm in the top ten?' This wouldn't be good for my deception. I wasn't sure what type of competing we would be doing, however I knew that hundreds of eyes would be upon me in that arena. It would not bode well if someone were to find me out.
After hearing my name once more, I stepped to the front of the hall. The Captain gave me a brief scowl of disapproval for having to call my name twice, but luckily he continued on with his list. Once the last man stepped forward, the Captain began speaking once again, "Before you are the top ten among you. Congratulate these soldiers tonight boys, for one of these fine men will be attending the banquet tomorrow within the palace."
The other nine men around me smiled while greed consumed their eyes. You could tell that they wanted to be the man to attend the banquet. All of them could barely contain their need to question what the contest would be, however none of them dared to ask.
The Captain left shortly after, and upon his departure the whole hall erupted in chaos.
"I bet you he's going to do like in the games. Fight to the death."
"I bet you that it will be a test of skill and strength. I mean, why would he kill off our best?"
"Our best is nothing compared to the military's best. We are easily expendable."
"True, true."
I tried to block out the chattering around me. I wasn't sure what was in store for tomorrow, but if I knew anything about this war-consuming society, it was to prepare for the worst. I quickly slipped out of the hall and headed to a small alleyway located equal distance from the soldier's lodgings and the palace.
"You're late luv. I've been waiting for nearly an hour now." Richie impatiently hopped on one leg as he wrapped his arms around his tall shivering body. He was decked out in palace attire which consisted of pale shoulder length robes tied around his waist with golden tassels; it did nothing to assist with the piercing desert night wind. The paleness of the cloth showed off his newly tanned skin, dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. His elegant hairless face showed off a smirk of contempt as he looked at my warmer clothes. I had wrapped my body with a military-grade cape and was not feeling the effects of the night air.
"Here, take this before you freeze." I handed over my cape, but was still covered in enough armor to keep the chill out. I was always wearing a long-tunic under my chest plate, even during the day to keep my birth-tats from showing. If anyone were to see the markings on my upper biceps, they would know that I came from the badlands which is notorious for being a women-only society.
"Thanks. What took you so long anyway?" Richie asked.
"Sarce came by and ordered that the King is needing entertainment for tomorrow. You heard anything in the palace about it?"
"Actually, now that you mention it I think I have. I was pouring some wine for a few delegates today, which by the way the young prince they have is such a sight to see. I mean, he had THE most gorgeous ruby red lips and bright green eyes. I almost -"
"Rich, focus please."
"Right. Anyway the delegates were talking about how they accepted to our terms of bringing in their women twice a year, however since they were here they had heard about some legendary games. Since we apparently don't have many gladiators or slaves in stock, the King mentioned new recruits . . . Heaven's above, he was meaning your barracks?!"
I ignored his question and immediately asked what games he was referring to. "Well, the only games I have heard about are the 'killing-each-other-off-till-one's-left-standing' kind of games. You gotta tell me luv, does this include the whole troop of yours?"
"No it doesn't . . ." My trailing off caused Richie to raise his delicate eyebrow, "And what do you mean by that? Don't make me go full-metal-diva cause you know I don't care for suspense."
"The Captain chose the top ten best soldiers. Unfortunately I am in that list."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone