Five years before.The pearl of the kingdom is its capital, Boston. The majestic city is mind-blowing with its impressive size and majestic architectural style. There are enchanting sights on each step: here is the royal castle pressing with its almost tangible power and influence, and a little further, the tall and magnificent tower of the merchants" guild casts a shadow on almost half of the city. Every day the joyful or disappointed roar of the crowd comes from the arena of gigantic proportions, reminiscent of the Colosseum.
The capital was the face of the kingdom for a reason. It delighted, shocked and inspired awe in almost any guest or tourist who first visited it. It was home to millions of people, an always busy anthill, surrounded by high and strong walls that even an army of giants could never climb over or break.
Today the atmosphere in Boston couldn"t be more electric. Pa.s.sers-by couldn"t stop talking about the impending b.l.o.o.d.y battles of the strongest slaves of the empire. The king himself had organized that significant event by in honor of the recent successful defense against the attack by supreme animals.
In any kingdom, common people love three things best of all: beautiful girls, good booze and spectacular fights. And now, more than two hundred thousand spectators filled the stands of the arena in dense rows. They shouted, laughed and discussed things excitedly, in short, everyone was looking forward to the beginning of the bloodshed. Some placed their bets, others came to have a good time, unwind, get a sense of a victory.
All things happening were specially organized to influence the att.i.tude in the ma.s.ses, that is, to let the common people have fun. As for n.o.ble families, they have been thanked differently. They couldn"t care less for feeble slaves fighting with weak beasts. They"d rather devote their time to family squabbles or training.
However, on that very day, Jurich Stone, the Patriarch of the family of 1st grade arrived at the arena. His appearance surprised everyone present, including the king himself, who had to attend the event, which he had organized himself.
Jurich was graceful. He had the beauty of a true warrior, that is, he was tall and broad-shouldered with somewhat rough but attractive features. His muscular body gave the vapors to the most desired and unreachable ladies. His cold and determined gaze sent to kneel and beg for mercy the most ferocious enemies. Everyone in Boston knew that it was Jurich who raised the Stones to the first place in just a few years. n.o.body knew when exactly he became so powerful or where he came from, but everyone knew that a person with his power who had no equal, couldn"t be ordinary.
His wife Diana was walking arm in arm next to him. She was a beautiful, fragile-looking, blond woman. A fat boy and two little girls were following them. They could both overshadow the sun itself, so dazzlingly charming they were. Truly, it was difficult to take eyes off that family known. Everyone in the kingdom thought they were perfect.
Waves of conversations and rumble of whispers spread above the arena.
«This is Sir Yurich himself! Why did the patriarch of the family number one come to see the slaves fighting?!» … «Geez, look at that beautiful girl, It"s Elsa! I heard that she is already in the middle stage of the Superior phase, and she is only ten! What an extraordinary talent?!» … «Every time I look at Lady Diana I understand that I chose the wrong wife.» … «Shut up! Did your face miss my frying pan?!» … «Is that charming girl his youngest daughter? Eh, I would like to have one like that... Why is heaven so kind to those in power?» … «Daaaad!»
Yurich cast a welcoming glance at King Michael"s box. The bearded man smiled at him. Then the patriarch seated his wife next to the main place in his zone. His ten-year-old daughter tugged at her father"s sleeve, demanding to be seated on his lap, which he did not refuse.
The little sweetie named Juno awkwardly froze nearby until Diana sat her next to her. The fat boy sat on his father"s side, his fiery greedy eyes devouring a hefty slave. He had put a lot of money on him.
With warmth in his voice, the man addressed the girl on her knees:
«Elsa, today I brought you into the arena for a reason. You have to learn an important lesson. I want you to focus on each slave, on their relations and on how quickly their behavior changes depending on various factors. You will tell me everything you learned from this lesson at home, will you?»
«Yes, daddy.» – The beautiful girl nodded with a radiant smile, comfortably sitting on his lap, like a nymph. She seemed to be the happiest daughter in the world.
Juno looked enviously at Elsa. She didn"t leave her father for a second. It"s plain as day that she will take her father"s words, lessons or beliefs as a law. What a stupid sister... He loves her more for her att.i.tude, as it was some merit! But she was not like that. She would never kowtow to her dad to get his love! She was always pretty annoyed by her sister. Elsa"s copying of the father"s character or incredible talent in development drove her nuts. She wanted to surpa.s.s her at least in something, to prove herself, to attract attention, but... Besides her charming appearance, Juno had nothing to boast of.
The five of them were in the Stones enclosure, around which stood well-drilled guards.
The speaker came to the center of the arena. He respectfully greeted the king, then Patriarch Stone and wished their families to have a precious time.
Such a warm greeting from the speaker from the Royal Family Grand (0) suggested how respected and influential the Stone family was. All the more, the patriarch himself had arrived!
The speaker made an impa.s.sioned opening speech, pointing to the slaves in shackles. After the signal, the bars on the sides of the arena descended, and terrible wild creatures ran out: tigers, poisonous tentaculipedes, huge tarantulas, snakes, slugs and many other vile creatures.
The shackles fell off the slaves. They grabbed their weapons at the nearest racks and rushed to the attack.
A fierce battle began. The animals were visibly inferior to the people well prepared for such situations. The odds were obvious.
The chubby boy named XiaoBai was trembling with impatience, the chair under him creaked dangerously. Previously, he did painstaking work: he bribed a supervisor, an armorer, and a breeder. The breeder weakened some animals with special poison. The armorer planted an enchanted mace in the set of weapons. And the supervisor had a talk with the slave number six and gave him the instructions he needed to win.
Now, this slave seized the mace and rushed to attack the especially weakened creatures, by the will of his secret "benefactor". The more he will kill, the better.
XiaoBai was bursting with excitement. His thick ripple folds quivered, his fists clenched tightly. He"d put a tidy sum for the victory of that slave, and he couldn"t wait until his pocket got heavier!
The compacted sand was covered in blood. The humans got injured less often, so basically it was the blood of the monsters. Many understood that everything was arranged in such a way that people would win, but it did not spoil the general entertainment and the intensity of what was happening.
Juno was watching the next tiger get his head mercilessly chopped off, her wide-opened with horror. The girl swallowed nervously and squeezed her mother"s hand pitifully. She comforted her, stroking her tenderly.
The children are introduced to blood and cruelty at an early age. Like the world, like the traditions. It had to be done.
The fight lasted a couple of hours. New batches of monsters kept arriving... The slaves took turns fighting them until they grew tired and had a chance to relax. They rallied together, confronting the beasts. They covered each other and helped at the critical moments. In the future, their friends.h.i.+p could get stronger than metal.
By the final round, three people out of a hundred had been killed. However, it still pleased the audience. All they wanted was the blood to be shed. They didn"t care if it was human blood or not.
The mighty hydra was the main target of the last round. All 97 slaves united ripped lethal creature apart, without leaving it a single chance. They were overtaken by the fighting spirit which had running in the human race since the beginning of time when people united against a common enemy. Even if the last round was a relatively quick and simple, all the audience enthusiastically shouted and applauded.
Almost a hundred of slaves, out of breath but with smiles on their faces, shook their hands, patted each other on the back, and fist-b.u.mped. They had survived, they did it.
Yurich carefully removed Elsa from his knees, stood up and raised his hand to attract attention said in an extremely loud voice:
«Today"s fight was the most ridiculous sight I"ve seen in my entire not-so-boring life.»
A loud echo of his scornful words swept across the arena. A deathly silence followed them. The impressive man was the focus of everyone"s attention. King Michael looked at him questioningly.
The patriarch continued with the straight face:
«We suffered enormous losses while protecting ourselves from the supreme beasts. Families were left without breadwinners, children lost their fathers and elder brothers, wives turned into widows! It is only reasonable that we must honor the memory of the victims with a grandiose performance in celebration of glorious victory! And all I see today is a languid waving of weapons at weakened creatures! There"s no intrigue, no drama, no emotions running high! There are only three sacrifices on the part of the slaves. Should we be satisfied with such a victory?!»
Hundreds of thousands of people looked at each other uncertainly. Soon, many began to nod in agreement. In a couple of seconds, the buzz of voices supporting his words rose above the arena.
King Michael smiled sourly. He also rose from his seat and answered just as resoundingly:
«Patriarch Juric. You know, we"ve tried to make a good impression on the whole Kingdom. Today humans must defeat the beasts in the battle. Otherwise everyone will be offended by the fact that humans prevailed at war and lost on their own grounds. If you wish to add something to this event, I am willing to listen to you!»
Juric looked at his wife with a boyish grin on his lips. She could not take her loving eyes off him. Then he turned his eyes on Elsa. Her facial expression wasn"t very different from her mother"s. And then he returned his look to the king:
«A fight for survival will be the perfect end of the day. The last surviving slave will get freedom personally from me as well as a decent job and a hundred thousand of spheres in the bargain!»
The voices all around the stadium burst into a waterfall. The audience lost their heads over the generous reward:
«One hundred thousand?! I"ll go downstairs and chop them all down myself!» … «Hehe! A wise offer from a wise man!» … «Yeah! We all want to see a slaughter!» … «Let those slaves fight to the last! Stab them in the guts» … «Patriarch Yurich is making history! Bravo!» … «That"s right! Did I pay two spheres for nothing?!» … «Patriarch Yurich has a point! He should be a king, a candidate from the people!»
Yurich sat down pleased with himself, and Elsa with a joyful screech returned to her father"s lap.
«Daddy, you"re so cool! I will remember your lesson for life!»
Yurich pretty sat down back, and Elsa with a joyful screech returned to his father"s lap.
The audience wouldn"t calm down. From everywhere resounded loud screams in favor of the patriarch"s words. They got especially deafening to support the idea of making him the new king.
Michael frowned with annoyance. It looked like the death of the slaves was going to cost him dearly. But the show was initially created to maintain the spirit of the citizens, so why not?
He asked for attention. Everybody was quiet for a few moments.
«We"ve started the war with the inhumans for a good cause. However, slaughtering people is an ugly thing. Let the slaves decide if they are eager to fight to their death so that only one of them got freedom and comfortable life.» – The king finished his speech and sat down, thoughtfully looking at the slaves.
No one intended to question the king"s words. If slaves agreed to fight so be it. If not, nothing could be done. Therefore the audience had to support them fervently to kill each other! Or else... Everyone in the audience thought something along the lines. A moment pa.s.sed… Then another... And the noise in support of the fight had engulfed the whole arena.
Almost a hundred of slaves dispersed across the arena, holding tight their weapons, their faces pale from excitement. Those who"d dropped the weapon picked up the first one they saw. There was not a trace left from the recent cohesion in the battle with the hydra. The tension was growing, the air was thick with bloodthirst. The incessant hubbub from the stands pressed every fighter, urging them to start the battle.
XiaoBai snorted displeased. {Dad... You"ve decided to bankrupt me?! If they do not pay me out the winnings, I"ll personally shake the money out of you with interest for moral damage and wasted time!}
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Juno tightened her grip on the armrests of her seat in fear. As long as she remembered herself, she had never seen people kill each other. There were injuries at the tournaments, compet.i.tions or sparring, sometimes the fighters crippled someone, but it never came to killings. And now she was in for a ma.s.sacre of a hundred people!
The girl asked herself the reasonable question: "What for?!". She read many books where people committed murders out of strong hatred, great jealousy, or for another important reason, but what was the motive now? Now a single cozy place under the sun, one for the whole crowd, was in the spotlight. The case in question is the real ma.s.sacre between the slaves who became comrades-in-arms a moment ago, shook hands with each other, slapped each other on the back, smiled. How could they possible fight each other after that?
Juno"s worldview caused such doubts. Since she was a child, she concluded from books and her mother"s stories that people were the most intelligent, kind-hearted and peaceful race on the planet. They could kill someone from their kind only for good reason. But now her father seemed to prove the opposite with all his actions! If he began that talk, it meant that there would be a ma.s.sacre. What was happening? Was it a sort of a joke? No, he was a person not like that... The truth was always on his side, and his words carried a lot of weight.
The girl looked at her father smiling contentedly with complex feelings in her heart, trying to understand what he was thinking. She knew him well. For strangers, he is the head of the family, a ladies" man, the man who conquered the hearts of millions of people, and the members of the Stone family were no exception. He appeared from nowhere, tricked the patriarch Bai into marrying Diana and soon he was the new esteemed patriarch Stone. For people close to him, he is the one to rely on. His words are crucial. There"s no use arguing with him. Yurich always treated people with understanding. He was fair and gracious, albeit too emotional.
And only the closest people know that Yurich has one peculiarity... He suffers from emotional fits. When he loses it, he isn"t himself anymore. In order to get over a fit, he has to meet Diana. Then he is absent for half an hour. After that he is back to normal.
Juno knew her father well and that"s why his words shocked her. He used to show a reverent att.i.tude to other people"s lives. He pardoned criminals, he did not kill or cripple his enemies when he had the chance to, he did not execute traitors... Simply put, he appreciated human life. Then why was he doing that? Slaves are humans too, after all! What if he"s having a fit? No, he isn"t... Definitely not.
Juno"s gaze returned to the arena. The slaves hadn"t started the battle yet, they didn"t want it at all, which made the anxious girl more and more confused. She just suggested that her father might be wrong... What an absurd and incredible thought! But when she came to think of it, why should he always be right? What if she is right today? If so, then she will defeat not only her father but also the hated Elsa, who takes everything in dad at for face value. That"s why it is worth doubting his choice. The slaves are sensible people, they will not fight with each other.
The girl"s eyes flashed triumphantly. Warm antic.i.p.ation of victory filled her heart. Could she finally stop being jealous of her sister?! At least for an hour... Or better for a couple of days! That would be great! Juno hadn"t yet known the true essence of human vices and was confident that she was right.
«DIE YOU a.s.sHOLE!» – A beefy strong slave roared and chopped off the head of his fellow who turned his back on him.
«ААААААH!» – Another slave gave an agonized cry and killed his rival standing nearby.
A moment later, brandis.h.i.+ng their weapons, each of the half-naked slaves started slaughtering those who until recently they considered brothers in arms.
Juno lost the color in her face. Her clear eyes, that had never seen death and torment of people, reflected all the fury of the slaves as it was. The powerful blows with sharp weapons chopped off heads and limbs, terrible b.l.o.o.d.y wounds were accompanied by heartbreaking screams. They wrung each other"s necks, crushed bones with wild, ruthless faces where nothing human was left.
The girl"s outlook cracked at that point. Those savages didn"t have a drop of reason or kindness she believed in. There was nothing sacred for them. Why does the father appreciate human life at all, if they are so vile, betraying their friends for questionable rewards? They are at each other"s throats, killing their kind for a glimmer of a chance at a place in the sun... A while ago they shook each other"s hands, smiled friendly, fought against the common enemy as befits true brave people and now they turned into villains.
Juno was so appalled at the scene that she almost lost consciousness, but suddenly a thought etched on her unstable mind. That idea dispelled all the chaos in her head. The slaves are no people. That explained it all. Her belief that people are the most intelligent, kind-hearted and peaceful beings on the planet will not shatter over trivial matters. Her father, who valued human life, would never put forward that proposal if they were people. He did not appreciate their lives because they were no. Now it all started to make sense. There was no trick to it.
The girl calmed down, but the filthy feeling of betrayal wouldn"t go away. She didn"t only see people killing each other but lost to her sister again... As usual. But... It served her right for doubting father"s words. What a silly girl she is. Her father is always right.
"Slaves are no people". This affirmation in Juno"s mind will grow and develop, acquiring the following form: the closer is the individual to the social bottom, the less humane they are. They will betray, stab a knife in the back of the brother in arms for a vague hope of improving their miserable situation. These creatures have no honor and dignity. The absence of education and proper upbringing turns them into immoral, dishonest barbarians. Living in the sc.u.ms and feeding on food waste makes them selfish, self-serving, greedy for any material benefit. The lack of decent entertainment, goals and interests forces them to indulge their carnal desires and use their energy for violence. Indeed, extreme poverty kills everything human in people. They turned into animals in their early days and their destiny is to entertain and do at least some good to those in power.
As she grew up, she discovered her s.a.d.i.s.tic tendencies. As she was a high-born person and her will was the law, she was never ashamed of that. Still, she tried to hide it from others, as she thought it could send the wrong message.
All her life Juno could not surpa.s.s her sister in anything. Eternal feeling of envy and inferiority was gnawing her from inside. It didn"t let her sleep at night, tormented her with nightmares. However, when she humiliated someone, suppressed them, surpa.s.sed them both physically and mentally her essence was impregnated with insatiable, unforgettable happiness.
Each time she made someone suffer physically or emotionally, waves of pleasure gushed through her young body, exciting her from inside, making her heart beat faster. She was drooling at the thought to experience all that with Elsa. It was her an unshakable dream. Until then, she had to make do with second best.