A/N: Here I am, back with another chapter! Updates in future probably won't be this quick, seeing as this installment was pretty much finished by the time I'd gotten this account and posted the first one. But you never know. Also, the location error in the previous chapter has been corrected. Whoops. And I am aware that Wolf is not actually this timid in either of the Fire Emblem games where you get him, I just think that his personality (if you could call it that) likely developed later on. All the same, enjoy!
I cringe as the master of the house sweeps into the bleak room in which I kneel, an air of frustration about him and an expression of utter distaste on his face.
"You," he says, shooting me a look that would make a Divine Dragon cower in fear. "Are a problem." making his way over to the window, he looks out. He seems almost nervous. "A very big problem." I swallow, the dryness in my throat and mouth making it exceedingly hard to do so.
"What do you... mean?" I ask tentatively, hoping he can't see how much I'm trembling.
"I mean," he continues, his voice like acid as he starts pacing up and down the room. "That the king and prince of this land, of Aurelis, are coming to see me today. And that, boy, is what makes you a problem." he stops, glowering down at me. "Do you know why?" I keep my head lowered and my gaze on the ground, not daring to look up.
"N-no..."
"Because recently new laws against slavery have been put in place. Stupid laws, but laws nonetheless." he pauses. "They state that one is not, strictly speaking, supposed to keep slaves. The person who created these rules, namely prince Hardin, says it's an appalling practice and that it should be abolished. But people have continued to keep them all the same, behind his majesty's back. But, if it were ever to be discovered that they were doing so," his frown deepens. "Then the consequences would be most dire. And I have no intention of enduring them. Therefore," his faces twists into a horrific snarl. "What to do with you?"
"I... I don't know..."
"Yes, there's precious little you seem to know." he muses, putting a finger on his bottom lip and looking at the ceiling in a calculating manner. "But all the same, I can't afford for the king to find out I've been breaking his laws. I don't wish to fall out of his favour. I could merely say that you are a servant rather than a slave, but then again..." my heart's beating fast and I'm starting to feel nauseous. 'But then again'... what? I wonder, trying desperately to keep my breathing steady. "...But then again, maybe it would be easier just to dispose of you." I give a sharp intake of breath, prompting him to look back down at me. "Do you have a problem?"
"Please... don't..."
"Your opinions are of no concern to me." he says with a melodramatic sigh, turning to one of the guards standing by the door. "Get rid of him. Drown him, beat him to death, I don't care how. Just do it."
I bite my lip as the whip comes down again, cutting across my back and leaving streaks of white hot pain in their wake. The world is fading in and out of focus, and every time it happens it takes longer for me to be able to see clearly again.
The earth beneath me is turning red. Every few seconds, the crimson substance that is my blood drips off me and seeps slowly into the ground, staining it the colour of the sky as the sun sinks slowly below the horizon. But I don't care. All I know is the pain that I'm feeling. The slightest movement sends waves of agony throughout my entire body, and breathing is becoming increasingly difficult. Rough ropes bind my hands to two wooden posts on either side of me, cutting into my wrists and forcing me to keep still.
I close my eyes in a desperate attempt to stop the world from spinning. The men who are beating me appear to be getting frustrated.
"Bloody kid refuses to die." grumbles one. "I thought the master of the house said 'e was weak."
"So did I." another complains. "This is taking forever..."
"Quit yer yacking!" the last says sharply, the other two immediately becoming silent. "I'll keep at this all night if I 'ave to." there's an awkward silence. All I can hear is the sound of my breathing and the pounding of my heart. I don't want to die...
"'Ere," the first finally says, "shouldn't the king 'an 'is brother 'ave arrived by now?"
"Ah, your majesties." the politician said, rising from the chair behind his desk so as to greet them. "What a pleasure. I trust your journey was a pleasant one?"
"Yes, yes." the king replied irritably. His younger brother Hardin, who was walking a few feet behind his older sibling, merely nodded stiffly. "However, for now you may leave off the pleasantries. I have no want of them on this visit." the politician's smile faltered slightly, but didn't leave his face.
"Is something the matter, your highness?"
"Very much so." the king affirmed. "But I am afraid to report that the problem mostly lies with you."
"Me, your eminence?"
"Yes, you. I recently received a report from an anonymous source, informing me that you have been breaking certain laws concerning slavery." the politician's smile immediately disappeared.
"Wha... what?!"
"I do believe you heard me. Therefore, I am stripping you of your titles. All of them, whether you gained them from dishonest means or fair. You shall be taken back to the capital to await your sentence, and all those that you have enslaved are to be freed immediately. Now," he added with a sigh, doing a miraculously good job of ignoring the angry splutters from the accused. "I think I have spent quite enough time here. Good day."
The shocked shouting coming from the front of the house causes me to lift my head slightly. I'm too weak to do any more than that, and even this simple action drains what little energy I had left. The three men in charge of my demise look alarmed, running to the front and leaving me by myself. I cough, the bitter taste of blood becoming more and more noticeable in my mouth. Closing my eyes, I struggle to catch my breath. I'm certain now that, unless some sort of miracle happens, there's no way I'm coming out of this alive. That's when I hear it. Footsteps. Not the hurried ones of the men whipping me, nor the lazy, calculating ones of the aristocrat I belong to. Either way, they're quickly drawing closer, eventually coming to a stop. I hear someone gasp.
"Oh, Naga..." the steps come even closer. I keep still, not that I could move even I wanted to, anyway. Then I feel my head being carefully tilted upwards. I force my eyes to open... and find myself staring straight into the face of someone I've never seen before. He puts one hand over his mouth, everything about him portraying the horror he seems to be feeling. I close my eyes again, too exhausted to keep them open any longer. I hear the stranger's voice. It seems to be calling to someone or something, but it seems very far away, and I can't make out the words. Then a strange dizziness overtakes me, and a few seconds later all I know is darkness.
Thanks for reading, please review! Pleeease!
