A Whisper of Storm

Allegra De'Lore ducked her head. It wasn't busy for a bright and sunny day in the kingdom of Masyn, but it was crowded enough to make the young princess tug at her hood subconsciously, trying to hide her crown of auburn hair. The white cloak she'd snatched from her mother's chambers did the trick of concealing most of her expensive dress, but that didn't stop heads turning in her direction on a normal occassion. It was warm beneath all the voluminous skirts and fabrics, but she tightened the cloak around her frame as she scanned the crowd. However, today, no one noticed her presence. As subtly as possible, Allegra nudged her way through the stiff bodies, keeping her hands around the collar of her cloak where a single golden pin perched - the symbol of Masyn's royal family. It was imprinted everywhere along the streets where winged serpent with their tails curled in an odd spiral that always left Allegra's mind blurred resided. Her ancestors had built this kingdom from the ground up, driving enemies away and constructing a civilisation where there would be no fear of anything. That was what the serpent defined, anyway. And yet, here she was, fright crawling along the surface of her skin. With open mouths etched upon every gleaming face and eyes tilted in dangerous excitement, the townspeople watched as the gates of the towering building in front of them opened with a tremendous groan, slitting the silence which had begun to settle above the shoudlers of those who stood around Allegra. The chains came rattling in first. There were loops and loops and loops of them, all connected into one large circle which caged in the prisoners - the slaves. Allegra heard herself suck in a sharp breath, hands clammy with moisture. The sky suddenly seemed to growl. The man leading the line of rebels was dressed in a thick black uniform, brass buttons and gold lines decorating the surface. And when he marched up to the stage set up before the crooked building he emerged from, the audience erupted into a thundering applause and a deafening chorus of screams. Allegra remained still, though she was passed back and forth between the hard shoulders of boulder-like men and swaying arms of women cheering with their handkerchiefs dancing in the wind. Allegra allowed her eyes to flutter shut for a moment, allowed all the noise to drill into her head before her father would eventually discover her disappearance from the palace and unleash his hatred for cruel activities such as the one about to begin by ordering his most elite guards to hunt her down. Sweat glinted down the curve of her neck. Then, finally letting go of her cloak, Allegra beheld the stage. A total of seven Dragon Slaves stood behind the leader, their heads bowed and hair twisting in the breeze which rocked through the air. Her father had given them that name - a hideous one, at that. After the fires which had wiped out nearly all the Shifters in the kingdom, the few who had fled were captured and forced into labor for their freedom. Or forced into entertaining the kingdom's residents. "Ladies and gentlemen!" the voice of the man in black cut through Allegra's thoughts. "Welcome to this months's newest Dragon Games, where all the contestants will fight each other to the death." There was no other way - no gentle way of describing these games. Each contestant would be purchased and sponsored - but those who had no sponsors... Allegra shuddered. "Challengers will face their oponents in one-on-one battles," the handler continued, "but in the end, there will only be one winner, one champion." The man's voice deepens near the end of his introduction and the crowd exclaims in anticipation. "And of course, we cannot forget our most generous sponsors who have made these games come to life." Something this brutal should never have been founded. Allegra's heart sank and her head - it grew light. "Shall the games begin?" The crowd was in hysterics, but Allegra didn't have time to worry about what was going on around her. Her narrowed brown eyes raked across the line of participants. She was already sizing each on up. Most of the contestants' physiques was strong and broad, built for battling and wrestling and killing. They each had chains wrapped around their wrists, dark and glistening and coated with a burning tar which tamed their wild natures. It was ridiculoud how they were once beautiful beasts who soared across the azure skies in their armors of red and gold and silver. But now - they were useless. Useless machines. Flags painted a dazzling bronze and crimson rose into the air from the ground and guards. dressed in similiar sleeveless clothes to the man on the stage appeared around the platform, arms crossed and bulging. They weren't here to make sure we didn't cross onto the stage in our rays of thrill. They were here to make sure the Dragons didn't try to escape. Allegra scrutinized each male, their hair billowing and eyes lowered. Marks others would have mistaken as intriguing tattoos coiled about their arms, snaking like vines up their arms, defining each cord of muscle. Their skin was all an abnormal, sun-kissed gold glittering with shimmers of bronze and silver and even shadeds of blue. Some were stripped of their clothing, exposing bare chests heaving up and down. Allegra's eyes didn't linger too long on them. She watched the last contestant at the end of the line, smaller compared to the others but larger than any of the males in the crowd. He was lean, irresistably tanned, and a disheveled tangle of shoulder-length black hair draped across his forehead, over the gentle dip of his eyes and harsh cut of his jaw. He wasn't looking at anything in particularly with those sheer, fiery, topaz eyes and not even a hint of emotion carved itself into his sharpened face. His full lips were set in a thin line, eyes dark with unfathomable distaste. His wide shoulders and tall figure would send most people to their knees - but today, with men twice his size surrounding him... Allegra clutched the purse at her side. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our sponsors!" Allegra couldn't even hear the screams of delight anymore. Ministers and nobles stepped forward onto the stage, their bright clothing flashing with wealth and status. The way they carried themselves, as if they were already royalty, almost made Allegra want to laugh. And laugh harder in contempt when each selected the strongest contestants until there was no one left of a plump noblewoman and the tall, bronze-eyed boy. The woman sneered, but she made no move to accept him. The boy remained still. If the noblewoman didn't pick him, he would die. Maybe he would die in the arena, anyway, but it was better to die in honor than to die in shame. The princess unstrung her purse from the belt of her dress. The woman exchanged words with the handler and guards - dozens of them - began advancing on the boy. He didn't struggle. He's seen this coming. Allegra guided herself past the last of the townspeople gathered here. Her voice was raw and strained, but her words were sincere. "Let him go."