Blood Of Kings

Submitted into Contest #66 in response to: Write about a contest with life or death stakes.... view prompt

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Adventure Fiction Fantasy

Here I was again, not that I did not know that I could not stay in my dreams forever, no matter how much I wish I could. Zackarias came through my little clay hut, and gave me a good lash with his leather whip. I flinched and got up. 

He looked me up and down with his grey half blind eyes in disgust. His long dirt caked hair barely clung to his sun burnt olive skin, and his dress shirt with ripped shorts smelled like dried cow dung. I could smell whiskey on him from a mile away, and together with the dung, and the whiskey, the smell made me flinch. He let out a long belch straight into my face, and spit flied out of his mouth when he said, 

“Get up yer shtupid OAF!” He belched that last part out releasing part of his breakfast on my nose.

“Yes sir”

“ITS YESSSSS SHIRRRRRR”

“Yes sir”

“Gemm youre lashy butt out sha do Shom work!”

“Yes sir”

I have wanted to punch him since the moment I saw him. Unlike most slave owners, he looked at me in the sellers market like I was some kid holding a lighter to his money. I remember him prying open my mouth with his dirty fingers, lifting my shirt, and looking me all around with his smug expression. He had this face on when he found my mother, brother and me there, like he was some genius that just won the lottery. 

Ever since he has this kind of grudge with me since I proved to be troublesome. It's not like I wanted to do the stuff I did, I just had terrible luck. I mean, what eleven year old likes seeing a cow pummel through a badly packed dirt wall, getting chased by a wild dofan. Or when a Rapu raid happens, accidentally trip into the horse gate and knock my head on the lock letting them all out. Anything bad happens and immediately it gets blamed on me. I get the most lashings out of really all of his slaves. 

Zackarias is a stock trader for shop owners that live in Elderdale. We get one or two Negua shuttles from the city Elderdale that come for live stock. What they use it for, well most of our livestock came from earth and was sent here to breed to mostly help get those famous earth burgers out to hungry customers, I have never had one myself, but I heard there amazing. We use some for pony rides, or trained pets, ecd…

The thing about humans that I do not trust, is that they want to die. I mean I have heard of the landfills of waste they first started to dump out of there city when They first settled here. Not taking care of all of the plastic and rocket parts which they dumped. That is until our kind showed them how to disintegrate waste completely. What a rotten race.

 But of course, I had to be a half blood, I am descended from a human mother, seeing as how I look like them, except for my strangely gold eyes. but what really is weird, is my strength. I mean, When I was first kidnapped by rapu, an organization of bandits led by Dahmire Moco. I was sent to be chained like other slaves. But I broke through them like they were made of wax. I remember the Rapu having to attach a special band to my forearm to keep me from using my full strength. It is remotely controlled by Zackarias, who always keeps an eye on me.

I started to dress in casual work clothes, ripped shorts, no shoes, and an oversized dirty cloth shirt. The sun burned my eyes with white haze, when my eyes adjusted, a scene worthy of tears was in front of me. Slaves worked in the pens, carrying buckets of water, manure, ecd… and back breaking work carrying crates full of earth's worst alcoholic brews.

Zackariase was talking with two Rapus dressed in his best, which was terrible even for my standards. Both Rapu guards were wearing red shawls and robes over golden armor. Their forked tongues slipped in and out of their snake heads sitting unnaturally on the human body. They both were carrying blasters, but one of them carried a long slave leash in his hand.

I scanned my eyes across the field and spotted my mother, working alongside my brother. She was my human parent. But she never once talked about my father. You see, she was driven to madness after my birth. She got better enough to work, but she does not recognize any of us. I slowly walked up to her, she was helping tend to the tobacco plants with my brother, Stephon working next to her.

“Asha, I am leaving now, I need you to let Stephon follow you, do not dare lay a finger on him or I will come back do you understand.”

She paused in her work and let a small nod escape, not wanting to meet my eyes. I quickly faced Stephon. His little brown eyes stared into mine, he had tears welling up in them,

“Matt, come back safe ok!”

“Anything you say buddy, I am going to win, and we will have burgers for breakfast the rest of our lives.”

He let out a small smile, and ran his hand through his bush blonde hair, he was seven years old and still looked like he could be older. He was taller than most other children I have seen here with a small wiry body. I wrapped him in a fierce hug, he whimpered into my chest saying,

“Kick their stupid butts and youll be okay.”

“Ok, I'll make sure to tell them that their hinies are in trouble for sure,”

 he laughed into my jacket and let go. Stephon was my little half brother. He was born thanks to a prior human slave here. He had cornered her while she was in the madhouse, a small shack originally used to stock buzz flowers, until it became illegal. nicknamed for the fact that my mom was in there when I was small. She had no idea what was happening until it was too late. He had brown eyes, shaggy yellow hair, and tan sunburnt skin., he was around 7 years old and I loved him to death.

My mother He was named by Diana, my mom. Well, she more just took me and Stephon in when I was young, and raised me. She was a fizcottle, she had a face with six bright purple eyes that seemed to glow, her skin was a sandy yellow covered in flecks of brown, and she had a large, hard bone plate on her head. She had six arms with three fingers in each hand, and was extremely tall. Her nostrils lined the side of her face in small holes, and she had burns that raced all over her body.

She came behind me and turned me around, she made a wide smile,

“Were you really going to leave without saying goodbye!?”

And wrapped me in a tight hug. If you have never been hugged by a fizcottle, imagine six three guys giving you a bear hug all at once.

“Careful, they won't take my band off for hugs!”

“You left me without saying goodbye young sir, I deserve a hug from my son!”

She set me on the ground, and sadness crept up in her face. She was a hard person to read if you didn’t know her, but I could not be fooled.

“That old dog wants you, he told me to come get you”

She waved and smiled at Stephon, and he quickly waved back smiling, we walked to Zackarias and the two rapus

“Just remember, they release the appetizers of the fights first, making you a victim for all of the more experienced gladiators to size you up. Killing will be easy once you get the hang of it OK, and do not forget to pick a sword if they don’t let you have your strength, If you are allowed at least some strength, go for a hammer, the judges love gore.”

“I know, but how will I know which sword to use if they won’t let me?”

You will feel it as if it is an extension of your body, like I showed you with those wooden swords OK?”

She sounded terrible, we both had been dreading this day, the day I would have the opportunity to participate in the worst game in the entire ticeti dessert, the Moco games. When we reached Zackarias, he gave me a giant smirk,

“Hersh he is, da besht of da besht!”

Both rapus looked at me keenly, 

“We will see”

‘OH YOU'LL SHEEE, HERESH SHA REMOSH TO PROVSH ISH!!!!!!!”

He violently chucked the remote at the ground between them, and the one with the leash picked it up. He stood up and went straight to me, he then proceeded to wrap the harness around my neck as I was dragged off.

“TRY ANYSHING BOY, AND SHEEE GETSH IT!!!”

That was the last thing I heard before a sack cloth was pulled over my head, and I started to walk forward, no bags, no water, just the cloths on my back, and my stomach that was doing somersaults,

Like for part two! (If I can manage to find a prompt)

November 02, 2020 18:25

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