Bab 6: Stupidly Headstrong
Guards took Neebo out of the carriage and brought him in front of Prince Archilles.
Everyone was eager to witness how Prince Archilles would punish this braggart of a lunatic.
Who on their right mind would even dare to insult a Royal Prince? Even more so, when he is just a lowly slave. A captive from a ruined kingdom. A Prince without his home.
"I wouldn't even dare to brag about being charming, what more, to spit on the face to the one who will determine my life and death."
"He was asking for it! He deserves what he gets!"
"I would gladly pluck his tongue out if the Young Lord allows it!"
"I believe that the Young Lord has something in his mind to deal with that bastard!"
"Agree, Our Young Lord is an exceptional ruler! He definitely have ways to punish that foul mouthed demon!"
The soldiers nearby had a mixture of hate and flabbergast. Most were insulted by Neebo's goading. Some steady-minded wondered where Neebo's confidence was coming from. Clearly, he doesn't have anything to bargain other than his life, and he is now in the hands of their Young Master.
Prince Archilles stood in front of the kneeling Neebo. His furious gaze was out for everyone to see. But through Neebo's keen observation, he couldn't detect any presence of Elder Bai. The only person he should fear the most. It seems that the esteemed elder still hasn't recovered from draining his internal energy. This is where his confidence was coming from.
At the beginning of his charades, he was poking the beast to come out. But it seems that Elder Bai is not coming out even after enraging the beast.
And so, Neebo was confident that he could endure whatever torture Prince Archilles had in his mind. He smirked and proudly lifted his face up against the furious Prince Archilles, "What a pretentious cowardly prick! You dare not greet the Charming Prince of Kindheartedness properly? Are you tired of living?"
Prince Archilles couldn't hold back any longer and he sent a kick towards Neebo's infuriating face, "Let's see how long you can stay bold and disrespectful!"
Pah!
Clearly the kick landed heavily. Yet, Neebo who received the kick was unfazed, and was still kneeling upright. "I never thought that Hazel Grave were able to cultivate this kind of mosquitos in this jungle, clearly I am enlightened by your specialty. Hehe" Neebo mocked.
Instead of being insulted, Prince Archilles had already recognized the other worldly strength that Neebo possessed; Thus, he was quite satisfied. As he was venting his anger, He was also testing how durable his new found punching bag was. "Haha astounding! Now, let the beating begin!" Prince Archilles joyously said.
When the first hour of beating ended; Prince Archilles fury diminished. He rested for a few seconds before thinking of different ways to utilize the durability of Neebo.
Neebo who was now standing tall and carrying heavy chains all along, proudly lifted his head and mockingly smirked at Prince Archilles, "Was that everything you are capable of? Hazel Grave should truly be scared now, knowing that their esteemed Young Conqueror was this weak Hahahaha"
Prince Archilles who was once again infuriated of Neebo's mouth stood back up again. He took something from his mount and wore it in his head. It was the crude silver Kings crown that the Kings of Ironfort owned.
This action greatly angered Neebo; the crown was not just a simple crown for him. It was the crown of power that destroyed his peaceful life as a kid. If not for that power and authority, He could've lived peacefully and in the loving warmth of his family.
He wanted to punch a hole in the body of this prick standing proudly and mockingly right in front of him, but he was tied down by the chains that bind him of moving against Prince Archilles beatings. He could only cover himself or swat his arms away at a short distance.
"What were you saying? I feel greatly motivated after wearing this crude crown of your father. How about you, do you feel motivated for a whole another round of beating? hehe" Prince Archilles provocatively stirred Neebo up.
The rest of the day was filled with marvel. As Prince Archilles refined his combat arts as he was using Neebo as his own personal punching bag for more than five hours already. The soldiers around was either marveling at the Prince's martial arts or happily enjoying the punishment, Neebo was having. None pitied Neebo of his circumstance; but a few, who had keen eye and understanding, was impressed of Neebo's endurance.
As the last ray of sunlight was gradually overturned by dark hues, the battered body of Prince Neebo dropped flat in the ground.
Leia whom Neebo was leaning on for the past few days was having a roller coaster of emotions. At first she was concerned with what's going to happen to Neebo; then she felt confidence and very optimistic, but then after an hour of beating, Neebo was clearly showing signs of pained expression. By the end of the beating, Neebo was clearly holding on to his determination and rebelliousness; she thought that this was a character of Neebo that she was most impressed about.
Prince Archilles also noticed how determined Neebo was. He too, thought of it as impressive. 'This kid truly amuses me to the point of being threatened by his potential. I must be careful, dealing with this kid.' Prince Archilles thought to himself seriously.
Lila who was also a resident of Ironfort, felt pity towards Prince Neebo; She thought that even though Prince Neebo never did anything good while Ironfort was still peaceful, Prince Neebo still is pretty impressive with how determined he is at defying the Young Lord and how he emulates a very strong will power against his enemies.
'I never thought that Prince Neebo had this kind of heart of determination within himself, to be able to stand even until the fourth hour of beating.' Lila thought.
As Neebo's body laid flat on the ground, Prince Archilles voice announced "Everyone, I shall take this great opportunity to introduce to you my loyal subordinates, a great slave that I have captured myself! The brilliant slave of mine, Ironfort's Youngest Prince; Prince Neebo!"
Everyone applauded in amazement. Some were enlightened of the identity of the young braggart. "He must've been a very spoiled prince to be able to speak that level of language, and that level of pride in his. Haha unfortunately, he was kept as an entertainment for our Young Lord."
"I actually thought of killing the brat secretly, maybe later tonight hahaha but to think that he could present himself as a perfect punching bag for our Young Lord, I shall allow it! Hahaha"
"Not only would our Young Lord be able to have the perfect punching bag for himself; The Young Lord would be able to practice his combat arts properly against a real person as well! Our Hazel Grove was really fortunate this time Hahaha!"
Laughter of celebration resounded thereafter.
Prince Archilles continued, "From now on, my great slave Neebo shall be treated with dignity haha whenever you see him, you are to spit a mouthful of saliva on to him! This is how my great slave Neebo accumulates strength and power! Hahahaha" his boisterous laugh ignited a fury of joyous celebration.
The evening was filled with celebration. They were nearing the capital of Hazel Grove; by tomorrow mid-day, if they were fast enough, they would be arriving at the gates of the capital. Thus, after Prince Archilles rested for an hour after his combat practices; He went outside and enjoyed the company of his loyal soldiers.
Neebo, who once again fell unconscious, was lying beside Leia once more. Leia was wiping the dirt off of Neebo's beaten body. As her hands found itself wiping the dirt off of Neebo's face, it paused and stayed there for a little while before blushing. Lila, who was also beside Leia noticed how she cared for Prince Neebo. She leaned closer and whispered towards Leia, "You are not from Ironfort, aren't you?"
Leia didn't mind the question and nodded in confirmation.
"I figured you were not from our kingdom, the way you cared for him, for sure you have not heard of his scandalous antics. Because if so, you wouldn't pity or even care much about him." Lila bowed her head down. She was guilty of having pleasure seeing how Prince Archilles tortured Prince Neebo with beating.
Leia felt a bit shock with this revelation; she took a deep look into the young maiden beside her.
"I am Lila from the outskirts of Ironfort, and I am one of Prince Neebo's oppressed victims. It wasn't that long since I experienced that traumatic event; so, every hatred I had for him from that day is still so fresh." Lila admitted softly.
The five little girls around her were curious of Lila's experience. They never thought that their strong and reliable older sister was a victim of oppression. They felt a mixture of sympathy and hate towards the man who oppressed their older sister.
"Hush now, everything is in the past now. I'm sure Prince Neebo had already been dealt a great deal of judgment already. Our lives now are subject to the whims of Prince Archilles, so let us now focus our strength on how to serve the Young Lord best." Lila snapped the hatred that was betrayed from the 5 little girls faces.
"Yes Lila. We would for sure train to become the best servants for our savior." One of the little girls proudly claimed.
"That's the spirit Fiona" Lila nodded with affirmations.
Leia who was watching by the side was a bit displeased. She never would have thought that these people from the same kingdom would bare so much hatred towards royalty. As subjects, whatever oppression they might experience should not be an issue to this extent. Any hateful thoughts against royalty aren't allowed and to think that Ironfort allowed the hate towards their Youngest Prince to this extent is such a huge insult towards all royalty of the land.
"Silver hair, come outside and let me have a good look at you!" A drunken Prince Archilles interrupted the thoughts of Leia. The guards then followed the command and took Leia out from the carriage.
Hadiah
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