The Dragon Prince's Slave

Chapter 3

Marietta

My throat was sore and my voice was hoarse from screaming all the way here while my face was wet with tears.

I had begged the man that had brought me here to let me go while we were headed here but he was too scared about what Lady Greeves would do to him when she finds out so he chose to not help me.

I had tried to escape again when we got here but he caught me and handed me over to some guards who took me to a cell in the building next to the arena. I had begged the guards and explained my situation to them but they had all ignored me. Some had even laughed in my face and when I realized that no one was going to help me, I sat in a corner of the cell and just cried.

I had thought of how no one would know what happened to me back home. I had no family - it was just me and Crista who was like a sister to me - and the people I knew in the village would just assume that I left so they wouldn’t bother. Crista wouldn’t stop searching for me though if she hadn’t been kidn*pped too and she was definitely worried sick about me.

I really missed her and I wished I could go back in time because I did not want to die in a foreign place, I did not want to die today.

I don’t know how long I spent in the cell but by the time the guards came to take the slaves to the arena, I had given up all hope of escaping. The slaves and I had been taken to the arena and now we were standing in the holding area under it.

I could hear a man announcing the upcoming show - the sacrifice to the dragons - as a guard removed my shackles. “Pity,” the guard said when he dropped the shackles to the ground and I glanced at him with my heart heavy in my chest. “You’re pretty.”

He moved to the slave behind me just a very skinny girl a couple of feet in front of me burst into tears and the guard next to her lashed out with his whip, cutting deep into her flesh. I flinched like I had been the one he hit while the girl’s cries grew louder and the guard lashed out with his whip again before she became quiet. I could see her shoulders shaking but no sound escaped her and there was a bitter taste in the back of my mouth that I couldn’t seem to get rid of.

Why did this happen to me?

I realized I was crying when I felt something rolling down my cheeks as I stared at the arena. I was going to die in that place and it was most likely going to be brutal since it was dragons doing the killing. I didn’t even know about the dragon festival before today but I was going to be participating in it as a sacrifice to the dragons... I just hoped it would be a quick death.

After a while, the guards had removed the shackles of all the slaves to be sacrificed and all of us were escorted into the arena. The people in the stands were chatting happily and some of them even cheered when they saw us entering the arena.

My heart was throbbing in my ears, loud and irregular, but I barely heard it because my mind was clouded with fear.

There was a luxurious box which had its balcony overhanging the stands below and in it, there were a couple of people who I assumed were members of the Imperial family because of the golden throne I could see there. Most of the seats in the box were unoccupied and it was only two men and three women that were there.

One of the women wearing a golden dress which had jewels on it was standing beside the old man sitting on the golden throne and was saying something to him with anger evident on her face. She scowled as she glanced at the arena and for a second, our eyes seemed to meet before the colour drained out of her face.

The guards suddenly made all of us stop in the middle of the arena before they surrounded us and placed their hands on the hilt of their swords, ready to strike down anyone that tries to escape. The slaves around me were visibly terrified and when some of them burst into tears this time, the guards didn’t lash out with their whips.

A couple of guards came into the arena with a cart that was filled with weapons and came to a stop in front of us before they started to distribute the sword. I took in a deep breath when a sword was forced into my hands and they began to shake as I stared down at the weapon.

A loud roar suddenly came from above and my head jerked up to see dragons arriving in the arena one after the other. Fear crippled me, freezing every muscle of my body, as the slaves next to me began to move backwards, whimpering and trembling with fear.

Even the guards that surrounded us were afraid but they still shoved the slaves that stumbled backwards. “Stay still!” they yelled while my heart hammered in my chest as I stared at the dragons.

Oh, gods...

They were eight in total and each of them was at least ten times the size of a horse. I glanced down at the weapon in my hands again and returned my attention to the enormous beasts in the arena that were slowly moving around with their eyes fixed on us.

Dragons bodies were covered in steel-hard scales that could withstand potentially devastating damages, such as a direct sword-blow, so the weapons we had been given were completely useless. Even if they weren’t useless, none of us would be able to get close enough to the dragons to use them.

The people in the stands started cheering even louder because of the dragons and in my mind, I cursed the guard that kidn*pped me, Lord Greeves and his wife and the people in the stands. I was going to die here and it wasn’t because I had done anything wrong, it was solely for the entertainment of the people in the stands.

Two of the dragons let out a growl when one swiped at the other and terror washed over me, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. Tears rapidly filled my eyes and began to escape from their corners as I stared at the beasts, knowing that one of them would be the one to kill me.

I don’t want to die… I want to go back home.

The man that had been announcing earlier began to praise the Imperial family and the audience cheered and applauded as they all stared at the luxurious box the Emperor and his family were sitting in. Most of the seats were still unoccupied and the woman that had been talking to the Emperor earlier was no longer there.

After the man was done showering them with praises, he and the guards that had brought the cart filled with weapons left the arena. The crowd became quiet when the guards that surrounded us slowly formed a line on our right, blocking the way to the open gate that led out of the arena as they fixed their eyes on us with their hands on the hilt of their swords.

This isn’t happening.

The guards began to walk backward towards the gate, one step at a time and my heart threatened to beat out of my chest. This isn’t happening. I glanced down at the sword I was holding and wondered how long it would take me to bleed to death if I plunged it into my own chest. Probably not quick enough. Besides, I didn’t have enough courage to kill myself.

A trio of raggedy, emaciated men decided to make one last stand and suddenly charged at the guards with a battle cry. Terror sucked air out of my lungs when the guards quickly drew their swords and cut through the bodies of the men like butter. The people around me screamed as one of the guards drove his sword cleanly through the skull of one man who lay on the sandy ground, choking on his own blood.

The guards instantly turned around after that and ran out of the arena. A couple of slaves ran after them, wanting to escape, but the guards shut the gate before they got to it.

The people in the stands held their breath when the sound of a mallet striking a gong suddenly filled the air and the dragons roared before they bounded towards us. The people in the stands went wild.

The slaves dropped their weapons and started running, wanting to escape the enormous beasts, but they were crushed under gigantic legs or ripped apart by claws and razor sharp teeth or set ablaze by the fire-breathing creatures.

Fear had become a tangible, living force that crept over me like some hungry beast, immobilizing me and holding me captive. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move. Even when a blue-black dragon focused its attention on me amidst the c*****e and its shiny scales made a slight scraping sound as it slowly made its way to me, I still stayed frozen to the spot. There was no point in running anyway, we were all going to die here.

The dragon had a bright yellow eye with a serpent-like slit for a pupil and the sword slipped out of my hand before my legs collapsed underneath me when it came to a stop in front of me.

I could throw my hands up to protect myself or I could curl up on the ground but neither of those would protect me from whatever method the dragon wanted to use to kill me so I just stayed on the ground, unmoving… waiting for death. Two other dragons focused their attention on me too and I closed my eyes, once again hoping that it would be a quick death while also desperately praying that I wouldn’t die.

… Nothing happened.

No giant leg came down on me to crush me, no mouth closed around me to rip me apart with razor sharp teeth, no claw pierced my flesh and no blazing heat seared my skin.

What is going on?

I wasn’t relieved that nothing had happened yet because the dragons could still attack me so I kept my eyes shut but still, nothing happened. A scream filled the air and my stomach churned violently as I assumed that was the slave in the arena being killed by the dragons.

The shocked gasps of the people in the stands was what finally made me open my eyes and a cold wave embalmed me when I saw the blue-black dragon lying on the floor and staring at me, looking submissive. My heart jumped in my chest while the crowd began to whisper among themselves and I quickly began to shuffle backward when I saw that the other two dragons that had focused on me before I closed my eyes were behaving like the blue-black one.

What the hell?

I froze when I felt my hand brush something hard and big behind me and I swallowed as I slowly turned my head to see that there was a dark red dragon behind me. My heart jumped in my chest while a noise slipped past my lips and I quickly shuffled away from it too. It wasn’t just those four dragons… all the dragons in the arena were behaving the same way and they didn’t seem like they wanted to attack or hurt me.

What is going on?

My breaths started to come out in short spurts and every muscle in my body screamed at me to flee but I remained frozen as I stared at the beasts. I had never been more confused and scared than I was right now.

“Witch!” someone in the stands suddenly shouted and my head jerked in the direction the voice had come from just as the crowd gasped when a man jumped from the stands and into the arena.

His clothes were golden and had jewels on them just like the cloth the woman who had been speaking to the Emperor earlier was wearing and the dragons stopped lying on the ground when they noticed that he was here. The man started to walk towards me with the grace of a large predator while my heart hammered a million miles an hour in my chest and the whispers in the crowd grew even louder.

All the possibilities for why the man jumped in here ran through my mind as he got to me, standing over me. Does he want to save me? Does he want to kill me? I was a little bit relieved that I was no longer alone with the dragons in here but there was a chance that he was here to kill me so I didn’t let myself relax.

His head was right next to the sun and I couldn’t see his face clearly so I had to squint but then he moved to the side a little bit, blocking my view of the sun. The first thing I make out is a pair of icy blue eyes staring intently at me but that’s not the only thing that is remarkable about him.

His dark hair was short and thick with the texture that you know would be curls if he let it grow out. His brows were sooty and his lips, currently formed into a frown, were lush.

He stared at me for a couple of seconds with his brows furrowed slightly while the dragons began to fly out of the arena and my shoulders sagged in relief as I watched them leave but me keeping my life wasn’t guaranteed yet.

“How did you -” he cut himself off and I swallowed as he glanced around. I didn’t know what to say so I just kept quiet and dropped my gaze to his shoes which looked like they were as expensive as his clothes.

My head jerked up when he suddenly grabbed my arm before pulling me to my feet but I still remained silent. He glanced around again while the crowd kept whispering and I kept my head down as he led me out of the arena.