Side Story:
Boy In Captivity
Ares was a few hours away from Roa.
He was silently celebrating his departure. Now that he was free from nobility, he planned to head north.
"Say, Ares. What exactly made you want to head towards the Sword Sanctum?" Auber asked him. Both Ares and Auber were taking a bathroom break, and had gotten out of their carriage.
"You mentioned it a while ago. Now that I have nowhere to go, there's no better place for me than there." He replied, finishing up his business.
"Interesting. I advise you not to get on the bad side of the Sword God or his underlings. You're a prodigy, but as you stand right now, you would be struck down instantly." Auber warned.
"Right. Have you seen the Sword God in person?" Ares asked.
They were both too preoccupied in their conversation to notice the sky, which was steadily shifting colors. Without warning, the sky shone a brilliant white.
"...Master, what is that?" Ares pointed towards the sky.
"I'm… not sure. But it doesn't look safe. A North swordsman should always know when something is particularly threatening. As far as I'm concerned, we should head back to the carriage." Auber explained in a worried tone.
Ares looked back at the sky, and realized that the light was much more brilliant than it was previously.
"Ares!" Auber called out to him. But before Ares could turn back to face him, he was engulfed in the light.
When Ares awoke, he was disoriented. An intense light made him open his eyes.
Was Fittoa always this hot? Ares thought to himself, as he covered his eyes. He sat upright, and found himself inside of a cage. He was in rags, and the cage was small. Ares could just barely stand up in it. The room he was in had ten or so other cages with children and adults alike inside of them.
"...What?" He said, bewildered. Ares didn't know what had happened. He looked around for Auber, but he was nowhere to be found.
"Auber? Master Auber!" He called out. A man with two protruding front teeth came over, and yelled something at him. Ares couldn't understand what he was saying. Ares furrowed his eyebrows at the man. "What's your problem! Get me out of this cage right now!" He shouted, banging on the side of the cage. The man came over, and kicked Ares through the bars of the cage.
"Eck!" He stumbled backwards, falling on his back. The man squatted down, and barked something at Ares. Unfazed, Ares got up, and tried to punch the man.
He began to say, "Don't try that again-" when the man swiftly got out of the way of his punch, and kicked Ares again, this time square in the gut. Ares staggered back, clutching his stomach.
"D-Do you know… who I am?! I'm…" He was about to yell out something he had said many times before. "I'm Ares Boreas Greyrat!" But now, from his own actions, he had discarded that name. He wasn't anyone special anymore, and he would be treated like any other regular twelve year-old.
Ares was taken aback at the realization. In his anger directed towards his father, he had taken for granted the privileges of nobility.
"I…can't go back now. It's too late for that." He muttered to himself, and lied down. He sighed to himself. I guess it's better than being a noble…
"Where is this place anyways?" He sat up again, but didn't find anything else new. But then, the man from before scowled at him, and tied a rope around the cage. He called for a few others, and they dragged him into another room.
He was now out in the open. He was facing a street, which was completely unfamiliar to him. The hell…? He thought, peering at the road. It did not seem reminiscent of Asura at all. But, he had to be in Asura, surely. Ares stubbornly refused to think about anything else. This is just a peasant town in the middle of nowhere!
A few people glanced at Ares. They went up to the man, and spoke a few words. The man motioned to Ares, and explained something. They looked at Ares curiously, as if examining him.
"Could you help me out of this cage? I don't know where this is, so I'd also appreciate a map or something." He told the people. They made a face, and walked away. "Hey! Come back here!" He yelled, only to be kicked in the stomach by the same man.
Ares was being held captive. He knew that, at least. Over the next week or so, he was observing his environment. A few other cages with people in them were dragged out. One of the people inside of them looked like a human, so he decided to try to talk to her.
"Hello? Do you understand me?" Ares had learned that the people that he saw didn't speak Human, so he couldn't converse with them. As such, he was left in the dark. He was getting frustrated.
"...Yes," The girl replied. She had long brown hair, and was in rags, similar to him.
She looked to be ten or so years older than Ares, and was glaring at him. "Do you know where this is?" He asked.
"...This is the Demon Continent," The girl told him. Ares widened his eyes, unable to believe her. "The D-Demon Continent, you say?" He repeated, hoping that he had just misheard the girl.
The girl nodded. "T-then how did I get here?" He asked the girl. She shrugged. "...If you don't know, I couldn't answer. Do you not remember anything? What happened to you?" She asked, speaking in an exasperated tone.
"I…I just suddenly woke up here a week or so ago… I come from the Asura Kingdom." He explained. The girl looked up at him. "That's…really far. If you're from all the way over there, surely you would have gotten purchased by now."
"...Purchased?"
"Don't you know what exactly this place is? It's a slave market." She said, narrowing her eyes at Ares. Ares sank down to his knees.
"Don't be dramatic. This is just… the way it has to be." She looked at Ares with pity in her eyes. Ares couldn't accept it. He knew something about it, but he was consciously rejecting any thoughts that may have hinted at that conclusion. To have it confirmed so suddenly was shell-shocking.
He was so upset, so irritated that he had finally managed to break free from his father's grasp, just for this to happen. Ares was still grasping at straws about the specifics, but that just made it worse.
"What's your name, kiddo?" She asked him.
"...It's Ares." He responded. He wasn't looking at the girl any longer. "What about you?"
"I'm Athena. It sucks that we had to meet this way, but it's nice to have someone to talk to." She smiled, and sat down.
"How are you… so positive?" Ares couldn't understand her attitude. Ares was ready to kill someone in his anger, yet this girl was handling this so breezily.
"...I think I'm just…used to it. I've been in and out of places like this all of my life. Running away from my abusive captors just to be kept in a cage when someone else finds me. I would have gone insane if I hadn't been positive. It's just the way I have to see the world." She explained in a somber tone.
"..." Ares looked over at Athena. She had a small frame, which looked to be from malnourishment. She had bruises and scratches all over her arms and face, yet she still smiled. How did she manage to persevere for this long?
"You see, I'm waiting for someone. That person told me long ago that they'd come to save me. I have to hold out for them. I don't know what happened to you, kid, but I hope you end up somewhere good." She said, looking into Ares's eyes.
Ares stared at her. The only thing he was thinking was, I hope Athena finds whoever she's waiting for.
That morning, the girl was nowhere to be found.
Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed this short Ares side story. School is slowing down my writing speed, so please bear with me. Thank you for reading as always.