Six years later…
I fucking hate my job.
I struggle to keep myself awake, fading in and out of consciousness. Fucks sake, will this guy just shut up and let me sleep. I've been awake for two days without any sleep because every damn time, without fucking fail, I'm always picked for the night and day watch. Cheeky fucks. It's late midnight, and I haven't eaten anything. I'm just trying to drink my sorrows away in this damned bar.
"Alright, listen up!" Captain Lenard yells out. "Tomorrow morning, we will be visited by Grand Templar Brahn. Woo-hoo or whatever. He's coming here to set up a tower here in this town, and maybe, possibly, just might raise our budget. So tomorrow, I expect every one of you assholes to be on your best behavior and do your best. Gods know we need the extra funding. I can already tell most of you haven't eaten jack shit in the last few days. Looking at you, Billy." Everything then looks at me and chuckles.
Assholes.
"Alright then, that's enough for tonight, go ahead and drink to your heart's content, but not too much."
Oh shit, I should probably ask for my day off. I snap myself to consciousness and rush over, standing between him and the exit door.
"Hey captain, I was just wondering if I could use my day off tomorrow."
He sighs, rubs his beard, and throws his hands up in defeat. "Fine, you've asked me a hundred times, and I can't figure out another way to ignore you. If it means you'll shut up, then sure, take the weekend off to sleep or something. Gods know you need it." He forcefully shoves me out of the way and leaves.
Nice.
I walk back to where I was sitting, grab my stuff, and shake the guy sitting next to me, Scotty, awake. It takes a few more shakes until he suddenly jolts upright and just stares into nothing. "Look who's… half awake? Whatever. It looks like we both got the weekend off."
He finally wakes up enough to know what is going on. "Nice… can we go home now?" He says, slurring his words.
"Sure, c'mon, let's go." I put his arm around my shoulder and lift him from his seat. Damn, this guy's heavier than he looks. We leave the door and walk back to our house. Calling it a house is generous. Not much, but it's the best we've got right now. I pull my keys out, unlock the door, and enter the house. At this point, I've been carrying him the whole walk home, and I'm too tired to walk 5 feet to his room. And so I just leave him on the couch in the living room. I take off my Templar robe and put it over him to use as a blanket. I close and lock the door and finally get to my room. Home sweet ho-
Cut to the morning
Wait, what's that feeling? Could it be? No, it can't be. I haven't felt this in a long time. Yes, it is. It's the feeling of finally having a good fucking sleep. Only very few things in this world bring me this kind of joy, those things being gold, food, sex, and of course, a good night's sleep. As long as I have one of those things, I'm in a good mood.
What time is it anyway? I reach over to my pocket watch, which I may or may not have stolen. And oh boy, did I have a good night's sleep because apparently, it's 2 in the afternoon. Yeesh, I must've been one hour away from passing out in the middle of anything. Well, whatever, me and Scotty have plans today. So I get up from my bed and walk into the bathroom to take a shower because, gods know, I smell like shit.
After a well-deserved shower, I dry myself off and walk back to my room. I get dressed, grab and dump my dirty clothes into the pile in the corner, and leave for the kitchen to eat breakfast. Usually, breakfast would be everyone's favorite meal of the day, but I can't say the same because neither of us can cook.
"Hey Billy, I tried to make eggs… again, but I feel like I may have overcooked them," Scotty says while trying his best to salvage what little is left. Finally, he scoops up the eggs and puts them onto a plate.
They can't be that bad. I'm sure we'll be able to stomach whatever it is… oh my fuck. Scotty burned the eggs to a black crisp. I'm looking at the eggs, trying to find any chunk or piece that looks remotely edible. I don't know where the ash ends and where the metal peeling starts.
"Scotty, I've seen burnt down Keidran villages more edible than this. Please tell me these weren't the last two eggs."
"These were the last two eggs." He says. "But hey, look on the bright side. Once we get that slave we've been saving up for, we'll never have to burn any of our food again."
I can't argue with that logic, which reminds me. "Hey, has the captain agreed to give you that pay raise you've been asking for?" He slowly shakes his head sideways. Damnit, we needed the money. "Don't worry about it. I'll ask around and try to pick up more shifts." And with that depressing conversation, we try to eat our sad breakfast.
I figure that introductions are in order. My name's William Williamson, a stupid name I know, so everyone just calls me Billy. Scotty is my roommate. We've been roommates for two years now. And as far as roommates go, he's the best I've had. He's a great roommate and a good friend. He's a stand-up guy, a bit of a naive idiot sometimes, but a good guy all the way.
I've been a Templar for six years now. I graduated top of my class with full honors and everything. When I finally became a fully-fledged Templar, it was the greatest thing to me. I was serving right by the human race, doing my duty, doing righteous missions. And when I did my very first mission, I was fuckin celebrity among the Templar. I single-handedly took down a large freedom ring. My reputation was at the top, and I thought it was the best thing yet. I was a dumbass. After that, everyone's eyes were on me, and I was given more and more giant missions like the first one.
But one by one, I failed each mission. Finally, everyone began thinking that maybe I was just a one-hit-wonder, that I peaked on my very first mission. They're probably right. Quickly after that, I became nothing but a joke and shipped out into this town in the middle of buttfuck nowhere. I'm 25 years old, and I'm already rotting in my filth.
On the other hand, Scotty is still relatively new to being a Templar; he graduated two years ago. He reminds me of myself a bit. Bright-eyed, hopeful, and optimistic. Life is going to tear him down. He's only 21, and he's already in the same boat as me, yet he is still optimistic. I admire that about him.
I finish eating my plate of burnt eggs, mostly ash, if I'm honest, and get up from the table to get my satchel. Reaching into the satchel, I pull out a small burlap bag filled with gold coins. I walk back to the table and lay the coins out to count them. 2, 4, 6, 10, 12, 13.
"We've got 13 gold coins, plus…" I pull out one gold coin from my pockets and put it with the rest. "14, we have 14 gold coins for the slave budget."
"You know, we could've bought a slave much earlier if we had just used some from the emergency stash." So said Scotty, still trying his best to eat the burned eggs.
"I know Scotty, but the emergency stash is for emergencies only. So we agreed to put in the gold coins we earn on the side."
"I know. I just feel like we could be doing better for ourselves instead of living in this small house."
I scoop up the coins back into the bag and put them back into the satchel. As I leave the house, Scotty rushes up from his seat and puts his shoes on.
"You're coming with?" I ask.
"Well, of course, I am. What, you thought you'd buy a slave without my input? Asshole." Once he finishes getting fully dressed, he snatches the satchel from me and rushes out of the door. "I'll get some groceries on the way. You take your time, old man." He says while running off to the marketplace.
Asshole. I'm only 25. I'm not old. And yet, my back hurts like I'm an old man.
Whatever, he's right anyway. I've been overworking myself. So I'll just take my time.
This town we're in, it's a lovely town. It's humble, quiet, uneventful, and most importantly, it's in the middle of nowhere. And I like that. It's the kind of town you can live in, relatively peacefully, and live to be old. So it's a hell of a lot better than my home town, nothing but chaos and noise there. But what makes this town something special for me, it's that there is very little Templar intervention here. Other than the small Templar academy here, there is no Templar intervention here. And I must say, I don't like that Brahn will put one of those towers here. I've been around them plenty of times, and it's just creepy; it gives me goosebumps.
"Hey, Billy! Where are you going?" Yells out a familiar voice.
I turn around and smile at the person talking to me.
"Well, good day to you too, Evelyn," I say to her.
"Will you stop calling me that! You know it gets under my skin. Just call me Eve." She says. "Besides, you didn't answer the question."
"Well, okay, 'Eve,' I'm on my way to the market to get… groceries and stuff."
"Mind if I come with?" She asks, attempting puppy eyes.
I can't help but smile and chuckle at her awful attempt at puppy eyes. "Sure, I don't mind. Could use the company anyhow."
"Yesss! Hold on. I gotta let my aunt know I'm going out." She turns around, opens the door, and yells out, "Hey, Aunt Becky! I'll be heading out; I'll be back in a few!" She waits a moment for a response. "She's probably asleep."
"Or passed out drunk," I say.
"Knowing her, you're probably right." She then jumps over the porch fences and walks over to my side. "Come on. We've got an adventure waiting for us at the market." She says jokingly.
Adventure, I'd rather just have a typical day. "Sure, adventure." And so off we go.
Eve, she's a great gal. We've been talking for a year now. And yet, I still haven't built up the courage to ask her out yet. She's been a good friend to me. She's helped Scotty and me when we needed it. She's 21, about to turn 22 next month, and her folks haven't been letting her forget it. They've been trying to get her married to someone, their old fashion like that.
Once we arrive at the marketplace, Eve finally asks the burning question I've been avoiding.
"What is it you were going to buy exactly?"
Shit. Fuck. I was hoping you wouldn't ask.
To me, Eve is the perfect girl, not just because she's beautiful, but because she always brings out the best in me. Even when I'm at my worst. But there's just one problem that irks me. She's a damned Keidran sympathizer.
We both knew why I was going to the market, yet she still wants to bother me with this Keidran kindness bullshit. But even then, I can't look her in the eyes.
"Billy. Look at me, Billy." She grabs me by the face and forces me to look at her. "I get that you're a Templar, but you don't have to sell your soul to cruelty.
"Sell my soul to cruelty? Where'd you read that, huh? On the back of a fucking candy wrapper?"
"Please don't do this, Billy." She grabs my hands tightly, visibly hoping to turn. "I can live with myself if I fell in love with a Templar Knight, but not someone who could own a Keidran."
Did she say, love?! Does she feel the same way about me? Of course, but then again, she's a Keidran sympathizer.
I've gotten into near-death experiences that are less painful than this. I'd much rather relive the events of the Legacy Hunt than say what I'm going to say.
"I'm sorry." I pull my hands out of her grip. "Even if I did turncoat, Scotty and I have spent too much time saving up for this. Go home. And for the love of everything holy in this world, learn the difference between human life and a Keidran." I say to her before I walk away.
Don't look back. Don't look back. Don't look back. Fuuuuuuuuuck that hurt to do.
Great, I get one weekend off in the entirety of the year, and this is how fucking goes. Really fucking great. Let's just get this day over with and move on.
Cut to the Marketplace
"We've got all kinds of Keidran from all around the continent, ladies and gentlemen! We've purebreds, mix breeds, and all the kinds you'd want!" Yells out the salesman.
To the far left of the crowd, I see Scotty waiting for me, drinking a bottle of cheap liquor.
"Hey asshole, has the sale started?" I ask him.
"Nah, you just got here in time. Salesman just finished setting up." He hands me the bottle to drink. I snatch the bottle and, still angry, and drink the whole thing down and smash the bottle on the ground. Scotty just sits there, watching me. "Okay, I'll bite. What's going on with you?"
"Fuck do you care, asshole?"
"I care because no one else will. What happened, man? Did someone pickpocket you? Again?"
"I'd rather not talk about it."
"Oh, it was her wasn't it?" He says, patting me on the back. "Don't worry about her. She'll come around. Someday she will."
While I'd like to think that, I just don't believe that there's much truth to that. "That's the thing, though. I don't think she will. Something about her won't let her change her mind. As foolish as it is."
But as Scotty was about to speak, the salesman brought the slaves onto the stage. The crowd next to us began screaming and yelling, waving their hands up hysterically, trying their best to buy the one they wanted.
"First up! We've got a fine selection of purebreds. They've been born and raised in captivity; they're highly trained, know nothing but human culture, and are purely the purest of our purebreds!"
Scotty pulls me to the side and whispers- "You think we could get one of those?"
I whisper back into his ear- "Unless you've got an endless well of money, I think not."
Once all the rich pompous asshats are done buying all the good ones, the salesman moves on. Quite a bit of time passes, next the mix breeds were up, then the sex slaves, then the torture toys, and finally the trashbin of the bunch. And by the time we got to the last batch, mostly everyone was gone, except for me, Scotty, and a few others.
"Alright everyone, here we've got five cheap Keidran. Not much to look at, but beggars can't be choosers!" Says the salesman. Scotty and I raise our hands first. To which the salesman notices. "You two, step right and take your pick."
Scotty and I walk up the steps and onto the stage. We take our time examining each one. There are two males, one a wolf and the other a snow leopard. I don't want the males, and I don't want to deal with their macho bullshit. So we move onto the following 3. There are two females, one of which is holding a cub. The mother and cub are lions, and the other is a tiger.
The salesman comes up to Scotty and me. "If you buy both the mother and cub, It's a discount, half off on both."
I step away and pull in Scotty to talk. "What do you think?"
"It's a good deal, but I don't think we'd have the money to feed two mouths. So for me, it's a no-go."
The mother must've heard us talking and got the bright idea to butt into our conversation.
"No! Please! Take my baby boy and me. I promise I'll work hard and I'll do anything. Just please don't let them separate us." She begged, holding her cub while weeping.
"Shut your damn mouth, you whore! Another word out of you and sew your damn mouth shut me." Yells the salesman.
But as that is happening, I catch a glimpse at the other female. She just stands there, tears in her eyes and shaking from fear. Her arms and back are riddled with scars, presumably from whippings or self-inflicted. The tag on her collar says she is 11, an adult, a mixed breed of tiger, and something unknown.
"What's her name?" I ask the salesman.
"Abigail." He answers.
"We'll take her," I tell the salesman.
Cut to an hour later…
After an awful day like today, we finally got what we came for and headed home. On the way back, I got a glimpse of Eve. I could tell she wasn't happy with what I bought. Once we're inside the house, we get everything settled. We organize our groceries and get ready for bed.
"Master, er… masters? Where will I be sleeping for tonight?"
We did not think that about that.
We've been planning and talking about getting a slave for the longest time, but we never really thought about the nitty-gritty and the little details, where she would sleep being one of them.
"You'll be sleeping on the couch for the first few days." Says Scotty. He grabs an extra blanket from his room and tosses it to Abigail. "I'm going to head to bed. I'll see you in the morning, Billy." He says, closing the door behind him.
After a day like today, all I want to do is sleep.
As I walk to my room, I notice Abigail is hunched over, holding her stomach. Now that I think of it, she is pretty shinny. She must not have eaten in days. What good is a slave if it's about to fall over and die? Looking through the grocery bags Scotty bought, I find a piece of raw meat.
"Hey, eat this." I toss her a piece of meat. She looked at the meat but hesitated to reach for it. "Hello? What are you doing?"
"Do I have permission to eat, master?" Abigails asks.
"I gave you a piece of meat; I'm pretty damn sure that's permission enough for you to eat," I say to her. Yeesh. Her former owner must've been brutal on her if she's THAT hesitant to even eat.
She picks up the meat and eats it. Poor thing must've been starving.
"Go to sleep, ill see you in the morning," I say to her and walk away.
Today was an interesting day, for better or for worse. At the very least, Scotty and I will give the day off tomorrow. Surely things will be better.
Sheeesh, it's been a long ass time now hasn't it? I've had this draft for over a year now, figured now is the time to post it.
(Finally corrected the absolutely fucking AWFUL grammar in the last chapter.)