A/N I really have nothing to say here. Weird. Oh well, review!
Chapter Eight: Expectations
"Again. Faster this time." Robin wanted to sigh at the seemingly never-ending stream of corrections Slade eagerly threw at him, but at the moment he was having trouble breathing. With great effort the teen peeled his battered body off of the hard floor and managed to slide into a weak defensive-stance before the onslaught continued. Punches and kicks rained down on Robin without mercy. At first the teen had been excited to fight, or as Slade called it, spar, and he had fought back readily. But that was about three hours ago. Slade, it appeared, never grew tired. As a sharp kick sent him to the ground once more, Robin began thinking back to this morning.
It had been shaping up to be a wonderful day until sparring practice. The "princess" had woken up in a grand room, utterly engulfed in things called sheets that resembled blankets, but were softer, and pillows, which were fluffy items covered in sheets. Anita had been extraordinary towards the teen, showing him where everything was stored and even singing him a lullaby when the islander had a crushing moment of homesickness the previous night. Robin hadn't understood the words of the song, of course, but had drifted to sleep peacefully nevertheless. Then the teen was woken in an even more pleasant way then by which he had fallen asleep when two caressing lips attacked his neck and a hot, wet tongue lazily drew patterns on his sensitive skin. Robin had opened his eyes only to see Slade staring down at him from above, and unknown spark in his eye. At first the hunter thought that they were going to fuck, but that idea was quickly dispelled when the king yanked him out of bed so hard that he flew across the room. After being rushed while dressing in an all-black body piece of some sort by an excited Slade, he was herded down the ladder-like structure called stairs, fed breakfast, and then the fight began.
Robin was literally thrown out of his flash-back by a punch to the gut the sent him up and backwards. While in the air the teen decided he had had enough. He had been trying to fight like Slade, holding his ground, not being beat down, but it simply wasn't working. So the hunter switched tactics and gracefully back-flipped using the momentum the hit had given him. As the boy landed in a low crouch Slade began to grin to himself. Now he would get to fight the real Robin, the one he had only glimpsed a few times. And a few seconds later the king was not disappointed as the teen rushed forward only to slide under the man's legs and kick him from behind. Slade didn't stumble, because he was Slade, but was forced to take a step forward before he turned with a kick, meeting only air as Robin catapulted himself all the way over the man's head. Suddenly the nearly bare room became the islander's jungle as he climbed a nearby wall with a window, using the height to his advantage. Slade was thrilled with how the villager let go while fighting, using anything to his advantage. But that didn't stop him from correcting the boy.
"Don't let your frustration get to you." Slade commented calmly, sidestepping a wild lunge that was much to obvious. The teen was becoming messy in his sudden desire to beat the king. "Harness your fury." Robin snarled, not even attempting words, and Slade knew the fight was basically over. With one swift movment the hunter was on his back, pinned by the larger man. He kept growling but the king patiently held him still. Slade understood at the turning point of their spar that the teen would revert back to natural instincts, most people did, and the king didn't want that. Robin needed to be completely aware of what he was doing and his emotions had to be kept in check in order for his pet to reach his full potential. Then and only then could Slade begin to execute his plan.
Once the teen had caught his breath and begun to relax Slade bent down and scooped him up. Robin made a sound of protest but did nothing else. He was frustrated and exhausted and slightly humiliated. Suddenly the islander realized he really had no idea who the king was. What kind of king would fight like that? Sure, Bruce could hold is own, he had to in order to keep those who broke their few laws in line, but hardly anyone did. And the whole time Robin had been with Slade, which in all honesty wasn't that long, the man had never really come into contact with his subjects except the help. So why was the man so good? The teen wanted to ask. Scratch that, he really wanted to ask, but he decided now was not the time. He was tired, and there was no telling what the king's reaction would be like. Robin quelled his curiosity with a soft sigh. By now he was completely level-headed and rational, but whenever he made a move to get down Slade's arms restricted warningly around him, keeping the hunter in place.
The white-haired man strolled into the courtyard as if he owned the place. Which he did. Which infuriated Robin to no end. Finally the king released the younger of the two by simply letting his arms drop. As the teen felt his body begin to fall he yelped and scrambled up Slade's massive form, much like a cat, until he was awkwardly draped over his shoulder.
"Some warning would have been nice." Robin hissed in Slade's ear before disentangling himself, all the while managing a glare that could snuff out even the brightest flame.
"Just testing your reflexes." The king rumbled back, obviously finding the stunt some high form of hilarity. The teen glared some more, causing Slade to smirk at him, before dropping the subject.
"So what are we doing out here?" The chief's son questioned, taking in his surroundings. All around the pair were the walls of the palace, tall and daunting. They were currently standing in a grassy field of sorts, where wildflowers grew in plenty and a small pond perfumed the air with the tell-tale scent of fresh water. And in the very center of this tiny piece of paradise was a huge tree, ten times the size of the teen with massive limbs that stretch high towards the heavens. Robin was entranced, he had never seen a tree like it. It's bright green foliage cast a great shadow upon most of the area though some few brave beams of light filtered through, causing everything they touched to glow mystically.
"I'm just making sure my pet gets plenty of exercise." Slade said offhandedly, causing his pet to snarl something nasty at him in another language. "Hey, I'm a good pet-owner!" The king defended himself. Robin scowled darkly before jumping up in the magnificent tree. He climbed the branches with ease until he broke through the canopy. The view took the hunter's breath away. He could see everything! Back on his home island all he could glimpse was green when he climbed to the tops of the trees, but here the whole town splayed out before his eyes. Robin gazed off into the distance, managing to make out what seemed to be a familiar sight of a rainforest on the horizon. The teen sighed as a sense of peace washed over him. A second later that peace was broken.
"Hey, Robin, need something to do?" Slade asked innocently, immediately making the "princess" suspicious. He gracefully lept out of his new favorite thing in the palace and front-flipped until he was crouched in front of the king.
"Perhaps..." He answered, eyeing the man. Slade grinned at him and then gestured with his hand. Robin turned to look only to see three men dressed in armor coming towards them. He guessed that the newcomers were guards and began to get a strange feeling in his stomach.
"Tú, yo quiero que luchar contra mi nueva mascota, a ver si él está para arriba para la práctica de un poco más."* Slade's grin had become positively evil and even though Robin hadn't understood enough words to quite grasp what was going on, he could tell that it wasn't pleasant.
"Las armas o sin armas ¿Su Majestad?"* The larger of the three guards asked once they were close enough, to which Slade replied: "Manténgase armados." The guard seemed less afraid of his king than the other two, but there was this underlying tone of utter respect he spoke with when he talked to the white-haired man that let the teen know immediately where his allegiance was.
'Well there's no swaying him.' Robin thought bitterly to himself before turning his attention to the other guards. They were terrified of Slade, that much was clear. Their build was also much smaller and thinner than the first one's, leading the teen to believe that they were much younger -possibly even around his age- but he couldn't be sure because of the metal helmets they wore.
"¿Y si nos abstenemos de grave lesión que le provocó?"* The large guard asked another question and in turn Slade's evil facial expression took on a twisted look that made Robin take a set back.
"Él es reemplazable. Si tienes la oportunidad de matarlo seguir adelante."*
The teen, who was already tensed and uneasy, took off running as he recognized one single word: mararlo. Slade had told his guards to kill him! The hunter didn't understand, had he done something wrong? Instantly every single argument between him and the king flashed through Robin's mind as he scrambled up the tree. From below came the intimidating shink of the three guards unsheathing their swords. The teen tried to hide himself with the thick foliage and the men started to jeer from underneath him.
"They won't leave until you fight them." Slade called out in a gleeful tone, making Robin growl in the back of his throat. "Use what we practiced today. I know you're capable." For five seconds the king's pet could have sworn that he had heard pride in his owner's voice, but with a shake of his head the teen decided not to dwell on it. He had bigger problems. Peering through the leaves, the hunter tried to devise a strategy. Suddenly he was reminded of all the times he got ready to go after a heard of black-bellied sheep back on his island. Once he struck he knew that he would have to finish fast, otherwise the sheep would scatter -or in this case- attack.
Robin prepared to leap when one of the swords reflected the sun right into his eyes. Cursing, the teen drew back. He had forgotten about them being armed. Frantically he began to search his surroundings for something he could use. With a stroke of good luck the "princess" found a thin, long, dead branch and broke it off as quietly as possible. It was no where near as flexible or as strong as his staff, but it would have to do. At least he wouldn't be trying to fight hand-to-hand when they had sharp metal.
Silently the hunter got back into position. He crawled out along one of the furthest stretching limbs, watching his prey intently. Suddenly, as if he felt his gaze on him, Robin looked up and met Slade's steel gray eye. He then pulled on his left ear, an insulting gesture on the island, before returning to the task at hand. The three guards finally met together in one spot after individually circling the tree and started to joke with each other. Robin's eyes narrowed and he tensed. With one last prayer sent up to the heavens where the birds flew, the teen jumped out of his dark green cover, swinging his make-shift staff with deadly accuracy. Before his feet even his the ground he had managed to knock one of the smaller guards on his back, sending his helmet flying and then landing on his chest. The other two men rushed at him but the villager simply flipped away, twirling the branch above his head as he landed in the soft dirt and swiped the second smaller guards feet out from under him using a leg. The teen then punched him in the face, knocking his helmet off with a chink and somersaulting away as the largest of the three brought his sword down a little too close for comfort. Face to face, Robin and the first guard circled each other while the one that had been hit originally tried to get to his feet.
Slade watched it all silently from the sidelines. Had he been a lesser man he would have flinched and called the fight off when the oldest of the guards almost cut off his pet's hand. But no, he was King Slade, and Robin was his pet and therefore represented him. Plus, deep-down the man knew that the teen could do it. He was so close to beating three armed and trained men that Slade felt a little bit of pride well up in his black heart. 'No doubt Wintergreen will hear about this and never let me live it down.' The white-haired man thought with an amused chuckle before his attention was once more brought back to the fight in front of him.
Robin was having difficulty focusing. By now the two younger guards had been taken care of permanently and the hunter was locked in a deadly battle with the last one. Wiping a bit of blood off of his left arm where he had let the man get to close, Robin slowly backed his way to the tree without making it obvious. The guard followed, blinking to keep the blood out of his eye where the teen had smacked him in the face and split his eyebrow. Slade's pet took small steps backwards until his back hit the trunk and then in one fluid movement he grabbed one of the lower limbs with his hands and swung his legs up, hitting the large man in the chest with both feet before he could begin to process what was happening and sending him flying backwards, both his helmet and sword leaving his person. Robin used his momentum to launch himself at one of the smaller unconscious guards where he grabbed a sword.
The largest of the three men opened his eyes only to see his opponent standing over him, wielding a sharp weapon. The teen was panting but his hands were steady, the swords tip not moving from it's position an inch above the guard's neck. The man closed his eyes once more and turned his head to the side in defeat, waiting for the slicing pain that would end his life. But it never came. By the time he had gathered enough courage to peek out at the world again both his king and his king's pet were gone. The guard sat up, momentarily stunned, before he rushed over to help his fellow members. They were all alive. The large man blinked in confusion. Just who was the king's pet?
A/N I know, I know, my OC of the guard was soooo Mary Sue ;) Anyways there's the chapter, I completely made up the insult dealing with the ear. Maybe Slade will know what it means! Maybe Slade will punish Robin! Plot bunnies are currently attacking my brain right now. Moving on- so, there was a lot of action in this chapter. And if was probably badly written. I iz sowwy. Not really... Time for translations!
* "You there, I want you to fight my new pet, see if he is up for some more practice."
* "Weapons or no weapon your majesty?
* "Remained armed."
* "And should be refrain from seriously injuring him?
* "He is replaceable. If you get a chance to kill him go ahead.
