*notes at the end of chapter*
Beneath the arena, there was a constant buzz that was similar to the inside of a hornets nest. The low and cramped tunnels that were deprived of sunlight played host to a hive of men donning armour and praying to whichever of the Gods they worshipped. The panicked breaths and chatter from men about to face opposition in the arena were spurred on by the boisterous cheers from above, from excitable spectators that had spent a hard earned wage to view the Realms most favourite past-time. Gladiators fighting in huge and decadent arenas, usually as part of festivals that would sometimes go on for weeks, to view fighters who sparred to the death for whatever Kingdom purchased them and their skills.
It was obvious when a round would end, there would be a lull in the crowds cries before erupting once again in cheers that would make the wooden beams above the tunnels rattle. The smell of blood would make it's way through the winding tunnels and the remains of the loser would be dragged in by a slave in an even lower position than the Gladiators themselves.
"That's the Diamond's for you, they always manage to send their kills back in pieces" sighed one of the Jokers who pressed himself against the wall as a timid and scrawny boy tried his hardest to pull the body and arm of the latest kill of the arena into the tunnels, leaving a sticky warm trail of blood in his wake.
"Make sure you come back and clean this mess!" the Joker hissed, slapping the boy across the of the head as he stumbled, catching the detached forearm on a corner in a hurry to disappear from the albinos line of sight. If there was a thing to fear more than death itself, it were the Jokers that overlooked these tournaments, with all the power of a Jack but with no vows of loyalty to any King, they simply existed to keep the arenas full of fighters and the Gods happy with the amount of blood being spilled.
The Joker marched down the tunnel after the child, parting the small crowd that were gathering wearily at the end of the tunnel, wondering who would be next to take on the current victor of the arena, a prized fighter for the Diamond Kingdom that had already knocked out the Heart Kingdoms best fighter, leaving only Spades and Clubs remaining.
"Spades! You're next!" the Joker roared, turning left to the small enclave which held men donned in blue accented armour. His red eyes scanned them for a moment before settling on the male at the back of the group, his face covered by a bronze face mask and helmet, the Joker jested to him, then out to the arena.
"Halfling! Time to get out there and make the Gods proud, heh?" the Joker declared, the other men gladly making way for the newest challenger to make his final trip to the ring. There was a pause before the chosen one stood up, gripping his sword he stormed past the Joker and towards the light coming from the arena and into the darkened tunnels. The Joker spun on his heels and followed suit.
"Now, this guy likes his low blows, he's gonna try and wind you before he hacks you to pieces… As you can tell" the albino rattled, his point being proven as he dramatically stepped over the blood trail from the last challenger. The Gladiator stopped at the iron railings that had been dropped on the doorway since the last fight. Through the narrow slits of his mask he could make out his opponent, waving to the crowds and bowing to the Royals watching from above, gleaming crimson and gold in the sunlight.
"Just… stab him before he stabs you and we can go home, alright kid? It's that simple" the Joker whispered to him, the Gladiator kept staring straight ahead, his eyes rolling behind his mask.
"…Gilbert" the man muttered.
The Joker raised an eyebrow at the name, "What?"
"Are the Royal Family here?"
"Sure they are, for all the Kingdoms, why?"
Before he could get an answer, the gate was raised and everyone turned to see the new Gladiator enter the arena. The fighter strode out to applause from the Spades side and boos from the Diamonds. He took a moment to appreciate the feeling of sun on his skin as he stepped out from the shade to the remaining sunlight left in the sky. The sand beneath him was wet with blood from today's proceedings, evident also from the scattered weapons strewn across the arena. His opposer paced eagerly in front of him, dropping his own short sword and reaching for a mace that had been left on the ground after sizing up the armour and size of the Spades Gladiator.
And there the two stood, both bound by the rule which had them raise their weapons to the Royal families sitting above them, the Rulers of the Four Kingdoms who had gathered with their subjects to watch the days proceedings. The King of Diamonds stepped forward as the current victor and silenced his audience.
"We offer these two Gladiators to you, our subjects, on this final day of the Summer Festival. May they fight for your entertainment!" the King of Diamonds declared, bowing to the huge crowds and then looking down upon the two fighters, extending his hand to them, "And to the men about the to fight, we thank you for your service and devotion!" he finished and retreated to his seat, which was the signal for the fight to begin as the crowds exploded in applause again, roaring at the two fighters to start.
Both men wasted no time in circling one another, the masked fighter gripping his sword as the Diamonds fighter slung the mace over his shoulder, almost as if to taunt the other. The crowds made it very clear in their roaring for someone to take the first strike. The Diamonds fighter and larger of the two played to their whims and charged at the masked fighter, raising the mace to bring it down, but the Spades fighter simply side stepped out of the way, taking the opportunity to slash at his opponent as he turned back. His sword was met with the mace which echoed within the walls of the arena, the two sparred, meeting each others blow and matching their attacks before the masked fighter made a lunge for his opponent. The Diamonds fighter was fast to react, grabbing the mans forearm and throwing him to the ground. The impact against the sand knocking his sword from his hand and leaving him scrabbling to grab it again.
His opponent stormed over and kicked it away, throwing his mace over his head he brought it down with a mighty roar, the Spades fighter rolled out of the way just in time but his cries were muffled from the mask when his leg was grazed with the sharp spikes. The Diamonds fighter brought up his mace again, this time with the intent to not miss, but the Spade fighter grabbed a handful of sand, throwing it into the air at his opposer. The Fighter roared as the sand hit his eyes, recoiling back and shielding his face as he regained composure. The Spades grabbed his sword and got back to his feet only in time for the second set of blows by the Diamonds fighter, enraged even more so now the strikes with his mace were relentless, forcing the masked man towards the walls of the arena, which made half of the spectators lurch from their seats to gain a better view of the two gladiators.
"Frankly my friends, I'm disappointed at the competition today" Francis sighed as he turned away from the arena, reaching for his goblet and sitting between the King of Hearts and Clubs, the latter sighing at the remark, "I don't see why you get so much pleasure from these games, Francis..." said Ivan.
"It's because he's in the lead" Ludwig, the Hearts King growled from the other side of Francis, "I despise these damned fights..." he mumbled. Francis laughed, looking over at the young Prince who was seated closer to the edge of the balcony, not paying attention to the other Monarchs.
"Maybe next time Alfred, you can bring someone who's not afraid to strike, hmm?" Francis asked to boy, raising his goblet to him. The Prince looked over his shoulder at his name, not hearing the Kings remark he merely nodded before turning his attention back to the arena, watching intently as the Diamonds fighter was landed with a punch in the ribs incredibly by the Spades fighter which was signified by a collaborative gasp from the audience.
Within the arena, the Spades fighter was able to gain the upper hand now that his opponent was winded. He lashed at him with his sword as the other fighter was trying to catch his breath from the punch, the masked man found an opening and slashed at his opponents arm holding the mace. Blood splattered on the sand below them as the Diamonds fighter hissed in pain at the slash across his forearm causing him to drop his mace. Still staggering backwards now into the middle of the ring, the Spades fighter had found his second wind and slashed at the Diamond fighter once more, countering his dodges and slashed at the mans knees and then his torso, leaving streaks of red across his opponents body, enough to leave his opposition roaring in frustration and pain, being able to do nothing but defend himself rather than attack.
From around them, the crowds were becoming restless, they were practically leaping from their seats, screaming at the Spades fighter, some cursing him and others encouraging him to now deal the finishing blow now that he had a clear advantage. He gripped his sword and caught his breath beneath his mask, listening to the crowds for a moment before glancing up towards the Monarchs balcony, confused as to why the Prince was screaming something. It wasn't until he felt something pierce his left shoulder did he realise why.
The Diamond fighter had taken the lapse in his opponents concentration to grab the remnant of a broken spear head from the arena floor and drive it into the mans shoulder. The red hot pain coursed through the fighters body as the spear head was pushed through muscle and flesh until it was hindered from going any further by bone, the Diamonds fighter gave a husky laugh and pinned the masked man down by his neck, with his injured arm he grabbed the bronze mask and pried it off his opponent.
The audience hushed as the Diamonds fighter held the mask up in triumph, looking up and grinning at the crowds with his trophy. Taking a moment to revel in their reaction before looking down at his unmasked opponent, who was writhing beneath him under the pressure being applied to his windpipe, his eyes fluttering from lack of oxygen and light blinding his eyes.
"Nice try, kid." the fighter smirked and brought down the mask, the entire audience reacting as the Diamonds fighter struck his opponent with the piece of bronze, over and over.
Well hello there, that was quite violent.
This was an AU I made up on my usuk blog on tumblr and decided to write it and put it up here, you can find more stuff about it over there, but for now I'm up for just writing a non-linear type of story line for this.
Anyways, I hope you liked it!
(P.S if anyone is still confused Arthur was the masked fighter shh)