The Glass Oath

03

I sit rather awkwardly among a cabin full of boys of my ages. They all glare at me but when I ignore them for a hour, they stop ogling my every action only but that muscular one. His eyes, cold as a snow, stare at me like he won't bother swallowing me if he gets a single chance. His ear bleeds but for the sake of manliness, he don't touch it. After another hour of awkwardness, I stop being bothered by him.

The ship has been on a long voyage since two hours. The doors finally creak open, letting us having a view of the ship. I walk up to the deck and stand at the edge, trying to see the little specks of my home village as much as I can.

I can still feel my father's eyes on me, how much he cared even when he pretend to be strict. I can feel my mother's eyes, longing for her daughter to come back—to fulfil the promise she once made. But that promise, like our lives, was empty. I could not go back to her loving arms, not now at least. I need to fight, for my people, for my identity that had been forbidden since my birth.

I look at the village. It isn't a village for a visit, to see the nature and old houses. It is the village of starvation, of poverty, of pain and loads and loads of hard work. The broken small houses mostly made of wood stand tall even in these extreme conditions. The fields, now scarce of its people working in it as they all stand at the shore of the sea, wearing loose, muddy cotton pants and shirts—watching yet another ship to sail away.

It is all we have, our reminder that a human body cannot function until hearts and mind stays together. It is all we have been fighting for since.

'Cold isn't it?' A voice interrupts my view. I turn around to see the boy, the one who looked back in the line, the one who gave me space to sit in the cabin—standing beside me. He isn't like others—bulky or brawny. He is lean, think and too skinny to be competing. Against him, I find myself too large with my tall height and broad shoulders. 'I'm Finn, by the way. Finely but my friends would've called me Finn if they existed.'  He outstretches his hand for a shake but I just stare at it. I nod at him ignoring the hand not because I'm arrogant, because I still feel strange when contacting with boys. The only opposite gender I had lived by is my Dad.

'I'm Flame.' I introduce. The ocean's mist has now covered the remaining fractions of my village.

'Good name. Flame and fire huh?' He wiggles his eyebrows, happy at his own statement.

'Yeah, kind of.' I stay quiet as I stare at the ocean. Too wide, too blue.

'So, where are you from?' Finn starts the conversation. "We are from the same village as we are on the same boat." I want to say but I bite back the remark.

'Croesus.' I tell him. He nods and bounce from his toes to his heels. I want to stay quiet, to just watch the ocean but I have two days to watch the ocean so I clear my throat. 'What about you? You like fighting?'

He laughs. 'Oh no, I'm more a ... um ... book person.' He looks down on his shoes as if embarrassed of his obsession.

'What are you doing here then?'

He looks up at me, his brown eyes smiling in the sorrow of the rules. 'Because my father wanted a gold medal at his home.' He chuckles to himself again. 'You think these muscles would be able to get them?'

'No.' I answer honestly. I knew I shouldn't have but giving him a false hope would do him no good either. I've watched how they fight in arenas over and over again. They is no way such a boy can make it through.

He looks on his shoes once more. 'That's what I thought.' I bite my tongue to flare any rude comment. Now that I see this boy's soft brown eyes, it draws upon me I've been harsh. 'But on the bright side, I'll be able to see the kingdom.'

I try to smile but it comes out mostly like a scowl. 'It's not much of a big thing to see.' I shrug. 'It's just another building made of concrete.'

'But it's The Kingdom you know?'

'Yeah.' I say. To be honest, The idea of watching the kingdom never fascinated me. I was always reminded how cruel the people living in the kingdom are and how badly they treat us.

The silence lays over and no one speaks.

'I'll ... uh ... go check up in the cabin.' He says and leaves me.

'Hey,' just as I am about to leave the deck, someone from behind me approaches.

'Hey.' I reply. He's the boy who guided me in the cabin before. One of the crew.

'I wanted to ask you if you are okay sharing the cabin with them?' He jabs his thumb over his shoulder, pointing at the cabin full of boys.

'Do I have an option?'

'You can take mine.' He smiles, showing off his broken front teeth. 'I won't have a problem.'

'Oh, really?' I raise my eyebrows. Is he being too nice or am I hallucinating? From the tales I have heard since my childhood, the ship crew are really mean.

'Yeah, I figured you might be uncomfortable so, you can take mine.' He is a 

short-height boy, with messy hair on his head and lean body. He twiddles his thumbs and kept on straying his eyes to any other thing but at me.

'Thank you.' I say. I don't want to stay in the cabin either.

He nods and guides me in a cabin in the lower part of the ship. The more I climb down, the dirtier and shabbier the things get. The smell of garbage and burning takes over me. I look at the red shirt and black pants he wears, a combination of colours from Croesus kingdom. I stop dead in my tracks as I see the small room in the corner of the ship. 'You don't live here.' I state. If he is from Croesus kingdom then no way in hell he lives so below the ship. He must have a good rank or his throat would be slit for wearing those colours.

I turn around just in time to punch the muscular guy coming from behind me. He dodges it and throws me a quick kick on my calves to unbalance me. I tripple but gain my balance as I throw him another punch on his jaw. He winces and yell something.

Three more boys come downstairs and circle me from around. I sneer. 'I never thought you would be weaker enough.' I say to him.

'You don't belong here.' His mouth twitches.

They all hesitate for a second before they attack me. I instantly grab an arm that is to punch me and twist it suddenly and forcedly until I hear the cracking sound of the bones and the screams of the boy when someone kicks me from behind.

Before I do anything, a hand grabs me from behind and another one around my neck. I bend down with a great force simultaneously throwing the body with me.

I punch at random directions as a sack is pulled over my face. More hands grab me from sides. I punch and kick as much as I can. My fist meets a jaw or a  chest. A shirt comes in my hand and I pull it heftily and then I hear a groan, telling me I threw someone hard.

My fight ends when I am pushed somewhere. 'Just put her in.' Someone says. I don't stop kicking or punching. My hands grab a neck and I tighten my grip. 'Let me go.' I say as more hands try to free whoever I am choking to death.

I bend down instantly as a hard punch makes its way in my stomach. I try to remove the sack but it has been held too tightly. Another punch at the side of my head. 'Let go!' I yell as I jiggle my body. I skid my legs to stop myself from moving forth but I am picked up.

Finally, I am free from the push's and pulls and from the grips. I pull the sack over my head and see around as I pat. My knuckles are red.

I'm in a room too small that I bend down for the ceiling touches my head. Empty cardboard boxes have crowded the room leaving a space of only my feet.

I go to the door and push it to open but it doesn't even budge. 'Stay there, puny.' I hear laughs and footsteps reclining somewhere. 'That's what you get when you throw the knife.'

Someone sneers but then there is silence as footsteps march away locking me in a room. I kick and punch as much as I can until I cough.

I look behind me and see a metal ball extracting a gas. Slowly, I feel my lungs shrinking as oxygen is taken from me.

'Trust your own self first.' My father's words crowd my vision. I kick the ball but I fall down on the ground instead from the hard cough. I pick up the metal ball that is lighter and dig it deep in the card boxes. The smoke is lesser but it still feels to be there.

I close my eyes as I sit by the door.

I am wrong to think I have two weeks before the tournament.

The battle started the moment when I stood up for myself.

oOo