"Stop!" I scream as I jump onto Giant, my bread rolls lying on the ground, forgotten. He continues his beating, his jabs bloodying Arthur's face. I claw at his arms, his back, anything to make him stop. Tears spill down my face. "Please," I sob. "Just stop." He heaves me off of his broad back, knocking me to the floor. I scramble onto my hands and knees and grab onto his leg. For a moment, Arthur is Tina, and his screams are hers. "I'll do anything." Giant punches Arthur's face again before dropping him to the ground. He falls into a heap, his face bloodied and bruised, his eyes swelling shut. 831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikgsHk7XCY
Someone nudges my side with their foot. I look up and see Giant peering down at me, his eyes little slits in his huge head. His face twists into a smile.831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmXZtCWcKU5
"Anything, aye?" he says, giving me a smirk. I nod, swallowing. He crouches down, his boots squeaking, his face inches from mine. He wets his lips. "Meet me in my room after dinner." He then rises, his boots squeaking as he walks away. 831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuz56w8OunT
I scramble over to Arthur. He moans as I come into sight, his lips and nose bleeding, his eyes black from bruises. I attentively touch his face, my fingers grazing across the cuts, bruises and blood. He moans in protest.831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGS2CmmvQT
"We're going to the nurse," I say. He shakes his head. "We're going." I grab onto his arm and pull, a groan coming from him. He doesn't budge. I pull again, his groans becoming louder. The others laugh, echoing through the room. I scowl at them before I grab onto his leg and pull, another groan escaping his lips. He moves, though. I keep on pulling him, ignoring his whimpers of pain. 831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChrIB4YzBY
I reach the door, to find a guard standing there, his spear held high. His mask covers his features, but I'm sure he's scowling, maybe slightly bemused. I stand tall, my stomach rumbling. The guard's mouth twitches into a smirk as his eyes gaze over me, lingering on my body. 831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IEo7qcROM
"Move," I spit. 831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtZ6L72hf1p
A chuckle escapes from the guard, his body slightly shaking. "You can tell me to move?" I stand there, my hand clutched around Arthur's ankle, his moans coming from behind me. The guard sighs. He points the spear into my general direction, the light glinting off the metal bar. I stand in awe of the beauty of such a deathly weapon. The guard notices my gaze and nudges the door open. "Go," he says, ignoring the glares thrown his way from the other guards lining the walls. "Save the boy. I hate cleaning up peasant filth." I walk out, still dragging Arthur behind me.831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecNMbT1ISC
***831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0R8MNkF3oZ
831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvidiaNJrha
I clutch the metal handle, the blade glinting in the light as I jab towards the dummy. The others use swords, the mighty weapons sweeping across their dummies, followed by a slice as they fall to the ground, severed in half. I wish for a sword, to feel it's mighty weight in my hands, to wield something so powerful, yet so elegant. Someone taps me on the shoulder. I spin around, to see her. Aadya. Her lips twitch into a smirk, the smugness overtaking her face.831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgl7iUuwa3
"I heard about this morning. When you saved Fatso," she says, spitting his nickname into my face. "I wonder how he feels, his only friend now whoring for him." She cackles, the others sniggering along with her. Giant stands at the back, a smile splayed across his face. I sigh inwardly, letting a tiny smile tug at my lips. "I'm glad my handiwork has shown on you." She laughs again at my silence before slinking off. My hand squeezes my dagger, my knuckles turning white. One day, I will kill her.831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSY1mxo0xjm
Dinner comes, more bread rolls again. Arthur sits in the corner, bruises and cuts decorating his face. I slide my body into a sitting position beside him, my back resting against the stoned wall.831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPEe5gafWwH
His eyes flit towards me. "Why?"831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWciBzBL56s
I turn to him. "What?"831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEyapbxm4j0
"Why...did you save me?" he asks. He touches his face ever so slightly. I think back to only last night and how my face now doesn't hurt.831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtk6YsNKg3K
"You took care of me, so I'll take care of you."831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4tPtxbPtHb
He glances at me. "So...we're allies?" he asks, his eyes lighting up. I nod, smiling. A pain clutches at my heart, like a dagger slowly twisting inside my chest, killing me. Even he knows that we cannot be friends.831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGC6n62Fn77
***831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ1n5zyyULI
I slink along the hallways, my hand grazing along the rough, stoned walls, scraping my hand. The lights flicker above me, the gas about to go out, sending me into pitch darkness. I reach their door, the old thing barely hanging onto the hinges. I breath in a ball of air before knocking. The sound echoes down the hallway, the thudding like footsteps. It opens and Giant's face looms over me, the other boys sniggering in the corners. I see Arthur, the bruises clouding his face. I'm doing this for him, I think.831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx08gxnua1q
Giant's face twists into a smile as he ushers me into the room. I enter and look around, the boys' faces smirking and smiling, sniggers filling up the room. I steal a glance at Arthur, his head resting on a bed post. I don't know if her registers that it's me, or if he thinks I'm her...831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEvZYQywFF
Giant steps behind me, his large body filling up the doorway. I take in a breath, the scent a mixture of unwashed clothes and rat droppings. I ignore the churning in my gut and turn to face Giant, his body leaning against the open door. His eyes gaze over me, encasing my body. I stand there, unmoving. 831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8HK2MxPgf
"Come," he says, a smile on his face. He sits at the bed and motions for the others to watch. They crowd around him. Arthur doesn't move. 831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTgi4nHXnN
"You said you would do anything," Giant says, giving me a toothy grin. I nod. My heart hammers in my chest as he lays himself across the bed. What am I doing? Why am I doing this? It's because you're too nice.831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLVmpZavpcc
Giant's face twists into a smirk. "There are so many things I want you to do." Don't look, don't look, don't look. Like a broken record, these words repeat themselves in my head, over and over again. I take gulps of air, my eyes scanning the room, hoping for a way out. A break in the rocks, maybe a tiny window. Yes, I'm small, but I can dodge things. A lot of things. Years of providing food for my family taught me shit. 831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKVyVSP2ZG
I go to speak but the words stick in my throat. I swallow. "What do you wish I do?" barely audible, but Giant cocks his head ever so slightly that I know he heard. 831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpLhWZ8CCZu
The next few words come as a surprise to me. "Clean." My eyes shoot up to him as my eyebrows raise in question. He chucks me a torn shirt. Dirt falls off of it as I pick it up in my shaking hands. Swallowing, I stand, my hands shaking as I go to the corner of the room, following where Giant points. A dirty rag with no water. I kneel, my body brushing up against Arthur's. A liquid drips off of his face, making a pitter patter as it drops onto the floor. His face is raised with welts. My stomach tightens as I clench my hands in and out of fists. Anger clouds my vision. I snarl at one of them as he tries to lay his hand onto my shoulder. He did this to them. Who did it to him? A familiar voice rings in my head. Harold. My mind goes back to the old days, when I would rage over something and accuse everyone. He would bring me to realise who was actually the culprit.831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQq6kcemE3S
I spin myself towards Giant. He laughs with some of the boys, Arthur's pain his enjoyment. I snarl at him, a deep, guttural sound coming from my throat. As if in slow motion, he turns his head to me, a smile twisting on his lips. 831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZxs4JmLFf
"You," I snarl. He tilts his head slightly to the side as if in question. I want to kill him. I want to see his body lying in front of me, bloodied and bruised just like Arthur's. I want him gone. Dead.831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjb0vslWd5
Suddenly, he curls up into a tight ball, howling with pain. My hand twitches as he screams. It's like the old woman. Pain surges through my chest as I collapse. I gasp for air, my heart pounding in my chest, my ears. Then it's gone. I lie there, empty. It's like a black pit has formed inside of me, sucking out the life. I'm gone. Am I? I don't know.831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaI2Hm0wvuS
I peel my eyes open and see him, Giant, helplessly lying on the ground. Dead.831Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwExjxwjsh
