Disclaimer: This fanfiction is based in the era of the Roman Empire to give you all some context. Some practices from this empire may be present in this story. I created a new Empire for this story. The Gotham Empire, totally original right? Wrong! I can't claim DC Universe, or the Known World like many have done before *cough* Alexander the Great *cough* Napoleon *cough* Your face :B
Rated T
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The Changing of a Heart
By: Fanficer21
Chapter 4
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5 day walk to Gotham City-State. About 36 miles a day= at least 12 hours. About 200 miles total.
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The next three days were the same. Get up. Eat small portions of bread and water. Walk 36 miles every day. Make camp at dusk. Eat small portions of bread and water for dinner. Go to bed still hungry. Either have wonderful dreams to make the suffering go away, or have nightmares. And then wake up again.
By the time the fifth day came, the number of captives had decreased greatly due to runaways in the night who snuck past the soldiers, or the
deaths of moslty children younger than Robin and the elderly from lack of food and the strain of walking for 12 hours non-stop, every day.
Robin noticed that he lost a bit of weight. He could almost feel his ribs protruding beneath his skin.
It wasn't until mid-day that Robin could see what looked like an enormous city in the distance from his position atop a large hill as they were led over it. It spanned as far as the eye could see, both ways. Massive structures could be seen sticking out at random places throughout the city. An enormous fortress wall surrounded the entire megalopolis. The procession of soldiers riding their horses and pulling wagons were at the front followed by a mass of bound captives. The soldiers had bound every person again the morning they were to reach the city. Luckily, Robin was able to walk beside his parents instead of awkwardly riding a donkey again. He stuck as close to them as he could without causing them to trip.
As they neared the city, Robin felt both his parents' bodies become rigid with apprehension. He was growing more nervous with each step, but all he could do was move forward. Entering the gates, he almost stopped in his tracks when he saw the size of the buildings and statues up close. They were huge. How could people make something so large without it falling apart? He was broken from his musings when he heard people shouting rude comments towards him and the other captives. They were dressed in clean white togas, bright colored tunics, shoes, sandals, and so much more. Looking down at his own clothes and then his parents' he saw that they were faded and dirty. His mother's beautiful blue dress was now a light grey color. They were covered in sweat and grim, as well as smelly from the lack of bathing. John had grown a beard over the course of the five days.
He saw the sneers and whispered ridiculing from the citizens as they past. The captives were stopped when they reached a large building, and were divided into different groups before being pushed into said building. Upon entering, Robin noticed a number of people laying on the floor on piles of straw, while other walked around. They looked at the new groups with sympathetic faces. They knew all too well what was going to happen.
Out of nowhere large hands grabbed Robin, causing him to jump a foot in the air, before cutting the binds on his wrists. He was then pushed
backwards where he fell onto the stone floor with a grunt, followed by another grunt.
"Ouch! Watch it dude!" A red headed boy shouted from his position on the floor beside Robin. "I'm sorry!" Robin mummbled. He looked for his parents which were no where in sight. He bolted upright and searched the area for them. "Relax dude, is that them over there." The red head asked as he pointed to an area not far away where his parents were getting their ropes cut. Robin nodded, but kept his eyes on his parents.
"I'm Wallace, by the way!" The red head said as he nudged Robin's shoulder with his finger. A grin on his face. Robin just stared at him, dumbstruck. "How can you be happy at a time like this?!" Robin growled under his breath, making the other boy put his hands in front of him in a defensive position. "Just relax. I grew up learning to see the bright side of every situation. Not sure what the bright side of this one is yet, but- Hey!" Wallace was cut off when Robin got to his feet and ran to his parents' sides, where they promptly hugged him. Wallace watched with a hint of jealousy as the new boy he just met had both his parents with him. He was living with his uncle when the soldiers came to Lartnec (Central backwards). His uncle was captured as well, but disappeared soon after. He pushed back his resentment before walking over to them.
"Hi! I'm Wallace, but I would prefer to be called Wally!" He said with a smile. Mary smiled back slightly before shaking Robin's shoulders. "Honey, why don't you introduce yourself to this nice young man. I'm Mary, and this is my husband John." John nodded before continuing his looking around for any signs of people he might recognize. Robin just shook his head. He didn't want to talk to anybody. "Honey! Come on." She shook his shoulders again.
"Robin" was his quiet reply. Wally just smirked at the boy's stubbornness. He had the feeling they would become fast friends. "Where is your family Wally?" Mary asked while looking around, however, she instantly regretted her question when his smirk fell. "I'm all alone. My uncle went missing." He replied with his head down. Tears made their way to the corners of his eyes. Suddenly a firm hand fell on his shoulder making him look up sharply. "Then why don't you stay with us!" John said softly and squeezed Wally's shoulder to comfort him. The red head only nodded in reply before following them to an open spot.
"So what is going on here?" John asked as he nodded his head towards the others in the building as they all sat. Wally's face became serious before answering. "This is an auction house. Soldiers bring people in and sell them when there are enough captives. People will pay good money for slaves. Especially those who have good trades, like cooking, smithing, or something else. It's scary how much people want slaves. I got here two days ago. I just hope I'm sold to someone who isn't a brute."
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That night Wally and Robin talked about many things while John and Mary slept. They were all nervous about tomorrow. Would they be sold together? or seperately? Robin hated the thought of being someone else's property. He was a free bird, and now he was about to be put into a cage.
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