He dared to raise his eyes and study the face of the royal villain, his skin had the dark color of an olive, and his hair was ornamented with gold pins, and thin golden chains that connected in the middle of his forehead. His Sinapis eyes seemed poisonous instead of vivid, and they were sunken deep into his skull, protected under tangled ginger eyebrows. This glance had a cost.
A sudden pain struck him, sending him to quiver on the ground as fire spread across his body, under his skin, inside his chest, down to his stomach, up in his head. He was twitching uncontrollably; it was too agonizing to breath, the air got caught in his lungs and threatened to pop his alveolus. But then it ceased, as abrupt as it started, and his body lay limp on the floor, exhausted by the extreme torture, froth dripping from the sides of his mouth. "Disobedience will result in great pain," the man informed him, as if he hadn't noticed it just now, "I ordered before; do not look at me as an equal."
He dragged himself to his feet, struggling to steady himself on shaky legs; little shocks of aching still ran through his weak body. He fixed his eyes on the ground and nodded submissively. "Xino reported you excelled in your previous training. I'm pleased with you." His voice was still as sharp as a blade, for some reason it hurt his ears to hear it and he fought the urge to puke, "You will be rewarded for good behavior, as much as you are punished for being undisciplined."
"Thank you, my lord," he said quietly, making sure not to lift his eyes and look at the dreadful wizard.
"Dismissed." A cold order came, and he felt like the conversation couldn't just end there.
"Master," he voice out, it was more of a begging than addressing, and he could feel his master's surprise at his valor, "Yes, Dark?"
"May I have access to the library?" he asked politely, praying in his heart for a positive answer. "Permission granted." His voice echoed in the large room, after a moment of thought, "Now leave."
He bowed down so deeply he could almost taste the cold floor, "Thank you, master." He said gratefully and left the hall, where Xino were waiting for him. He managed to walk upright and proud until they arrived to the open yard, then he fell to his knees and vomited; food, digestion liquids and dark blood.
"The master seems to be really rough with you, kid," the Dinolfos remarked, waiting for him to finish, "But you're a tough little guy, aren't you?" he said, cleaning the small space between his teeth with his sharp, long claws, pulling out a tiny bone.
He hadn't answered, but jumped to his legs, leaving the unpleasant experience behind him. He followed the lizard to the practice ground; by that time he was far too good to face only one enemy, and at least a pair of Dinolfos had to fight him simultaneously. This times three heavy armed lizards surrounded him with a deadly expression on their face, wishing to erase the shame of the last battle. It was just before sunset and objects tended to cast a long shadow; he used it. He always stood with his back to the sun, so he could eye two of the lizard directly, and follow the third one's shadow, which fell before him and gave in his attacks.
He saw the shadow between his legs growing, and it wasn't his own; he had none, he had noticed it before. The Dinolfos in the rear launched forward for an attack, he waited for the last second, pretending to be unaware of one's plans, and used a back stab, turning his blade backwards and pushing hard to hit the enemy's stomach. An unclear dong was heard behind him, his sword clashing against the scale armor, and the lizard on his left lashed at him, challenging him with forceful blows, soon accompanied by another.
Battling two enemies with one sword wasn't trivial at all, it was a matter of speed, control and quick thinking, attacks should be well planned in this case, and defenses even more. Over the sounds of the struggle he could hear Xino shouting directions at him, instructing him, "Work with your joint not with your entire arm, you'll tire too quickly." He criticized his energy wasting moves, "fight with elegance, with intelligence. You're not a god damned lizard head!" he shouted at him, and he couldn't help but smile lightly at the ironic comment.
He implemented the advices, and they all proved to be very helpful, soon his enemies were crawling on their underbellies, away from the arena, while Xino cursed them for their cowardice. He chuckled at the sight. Xino returned to him and examined him with squinted eyes, "We will have to find you more appropriate rivals," he told him, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "Start the routine without me, I have some issues to deal with. I will return soon, and you better practice hard while I'm gone." He commanded him, knowing it was rather unnecessary to threaten him, he was the hardest working soldier he ever had.
Dark went to the warehouse, pulling out the heavy sand sacks, piling them to a men's height and placed himself in front of it. First he would practice the jump attack; he would concentrate on certain point and make sure he stabbed right through it, with the great force that comes from the perfect coordination between his arm movement and the momentum of his jump. He leaped forward, raising high in the air, and coming down like an eagle that spotted his prey. He repeated it for the eighty fourth time when the lizard returned.
"Let me see your ending blow." Xino said, leaning backwards on a fence as Dark rearranged the sacks. He focused on the target, jumped through the air and stabbed downward, putting his weight into the blow, easily penetrated through the thick sand. He backed away, in on guard position, and attacked once more, putting every drop of rage and frustration he had into the hit. A while later Xino stopped him, with an unpleasant smile.
"You're a true killer." He said with satisfactory, showing of his sharp teeth. "Soon you'll be ready to thrust this blade through real flesh, and not stupid sand bags. I will make you love it." He said in a smooth voice, his forked tongue sliding out excitedly. It was late at night when the Dinolfos ended the practice, walking toward the entrance to the castle.
"The master has rewarded you for your efforts," he informed him, while leading him through the corridors to a part of the castle he hadn't seen before. "This is the officer's residence," he explained showing him to a spacious room. "You're free to wander across the castle as long as you show to practice on time. If you wish to leave the castle, you must address me in this matter. Understood?"
Dark nodded, surprised at the dramatic upgrade, he heard the lizard mumble as he walked away "Doesn't this gut ever talk?". He scanned the room; a real, neatly made bed, a closet, chair and a desk. It seemed to him like luxury, the floor was clean, and the air was fresh, he finally had a window. He stepped further into the room to see a side door; he pushed it carefully, curiously and picked inside. It was a small bathroom, toilet bowl, sink, shower, everything he could wish for. He smiled to himself; he had enough showering with buckets over a draining hole.
He took off his dirty clothes, and walked to the bathroom, letting the cold water caress his body, maybe this life could suit him after all. The corns on his palms burned, and the wounds in his body pained him, but he was grateful for them because they made him feel alive. He rubbed his dirty skin, noticing his body had changed, becoming more muscular and durable, he closed the water and even had a towel to dry his body with. He returned to the his room, opening the closet out of curiosity, finding a row of clean new tunics, and a pair of black leather boots. He grinned at the refreshing wardrobe and put on his new uniform, a black tunic with a golden sign placed at the left side of his chest. A loud knock was heard on his door and he heard Xino's voice, "Get dressed and open up, I wouldn't wanna see you're pale ugly ass ever again in my life."
He walked to the door and pulled it open to see Xino leaning on his lintel. "I forgot to mention, attendance is mandatory in dinner, so you better get you're skinny ass to the dining room." he let him know, chewing on a long, pale bone, sharpening his teeth. Dark followed him to the dining room, keeping a fair distance between them as the lizard's axe like tail moved hectically from side to side. "That I can tell you kid, the guys ain't gonna like you."
He sighed heavily at the obvious statement. However, he never expected something to be easy in this life, and he welcomed every challenge. He wore a blank expression as they walked into the dining room and a dozen yellow eyes watched his every step, with pure hatred. Bring it on, he thought to himself, do your worst; Dinolfos, the master, goddesses, he would deal with all of them.
So you kinda see where the story's going.
Let me know if you like it.
