Legacy of Dreams: Freedom

by Thomas J. L. Green

AHAHAHAHA! These confused and embarrassed faces are priceless! Even Katherine has no idea what to say or do.

  “I will take a nap, wake me up for the ball,” Salazar commanded as he lied down on the bed shaped rock and put his rucksack as a pillow, “I suggest you do the same, this will be a very long night.”

  16

  Luna

  “Are you ready? We are already late!” Luna shouted at Raven who was preparing in the other cell.

  “Almost,” he replied.

  “You take longer than a woman goddammit!” Luna insisted.

  In the meantime, Luna stared at a bunch of small brown balls in her hand.

  If I got it right, these should keep me from eating anyone tonight.

  Come to think of it… this will be the first time Raven steps out of an arena complex on his own feet. They had him chained in a cage all the way from his cell in Illysaeas to his cell here. He never left the Illysaeas arena before. He might get downright stuck on the doorway.

  ‘Nah, the pretty faced bastard will be just fine.’

  Then again, the first time James took me out of the frozen plains, I was crying so hard I couldn’t walk and I dug my hands into anything I could when he tried to drag me. He had to carry me over his shoulder and I kept kicking and punching him for hours…. and when we got there, I couldn’t sleep for two days, went berserk and killed out the entire inn, so we had to run. I hope Raven does better. He should, right?

  The door suddenly opened and Raven stepped out. Luna found herself at a loss for words.

  Incredible…

  “How do I look?” He asked shyly.

  Amazing, actually. The suit is really well adjusted to cover the shackles on the body while the scarf tied around the neck covers the last one. I’ve done a good job in getting Iowen to find this.

  “Barely acceptable! Now move, we are already late!” Luna cut back. He offered her a hand, Luna took it; her heart pounded so hard she was afraid it would shoot her head off and they together stepped out of the cells.

  Before she gathered herself, Raven was already leading her in the other direction.

  “This way, idiot!” Luna took the lead.

  FUCK! Why do I keep acting like this all the time! The plan for tonight was to be cute and charming... why can’t I just help myself and stop being like an annoying little sister?

  They passed through the cells area and went into the upper complex of the arena, which was connected to the mansion where the event was held.

  Did the guards just open the door for us and bowed as we passed?

  “Enjoy the event, your grace,” another guard said with a deep bow as they passed him. Raven wanted to stop, but Luna nudged him to keep walking.

  Now I’m curious how we actually look…. cells aren’t exactly full of mirrors and now the guards acted like we were royalty. No, like Raven was royalty. They haven’t even looked at me.

  The scene kept repeating itself as they passed through the complex.

  This feels weird as hell… nice but weird.

  The halls were getting more and more luxurious.

  “Ever been to a place like this?” Raven asked.

  “Never by invitation,” Luna smiled.

  “Got no idea what to do. Will be my first time out of the arena.”

  Man, not a chained beast. Man, not a chained beast. I need to keep telling this to myself; it's really hard to not forget sometimes.

  “Every place is the same. The people are the same. Just do what you usually do and it will be fine,” Luna answered.

  “Need my sword to do what I usually do.”

  Ha… ha… ha. Not funny.

  Luna forced a laugh anyway.

  “Please try to not turn it into a bloodbath,” Luna pleaded.

  “You too.”

  Right. I am actually the more dangerous one in here. I hope the first dose of drugs will work for long enough, so I don’t need more than two doses during the evening.

  “Be prepared to stop me if I do,” Luna smiled.

  “I am,” Raven nodded.

  Thank you.

  “Not that you would be able to anyway,” Luna chuckled.

  “I will pry a spear from a guard, impale you on it and keep you pinned to the wall until you calm down,” Raven revealed.

  That’s awfully sweet, thank you.

  Now they faced a large door. The guards at the door instantly opened, but as they stepped toward it, Raven stopped straight before the threshold.

  Here it comes.

  “Is everything alright sir?” the guard asked.

  “Yes,” Raven answered and stepped over the threshold.

  Just like that? Seriously?

  “Come, Luna, let’s go enjoy the party,” he smiled at her.

  Luna just looked at him and stared.

  What’s happened to his face? He always looked handsome, but now it’s like he is someone else. Someone so attractive I can’t even wrap my mind around it. No being under the sun has the right to look this good.

  He looks like a God. Literally.

  “You alright?” he asked her and extended his hand towards her.

  If I had panties, they would drop from me so fast they would crash through the floor, the floor under it, the cellar and keep dropping all the way to hell.

  “Sure,” Luna managed to squeeze out of herself and took his hand. He led her through the hall straight towards where the music was playing from.

  “The music is so loud… but it’s lovely. Much different from the drums in the arena” Raven evaluated.

  How about you just tear my clothes off, push me on the wall and have me right here and now? I don’t care about the guards.

  “It’s good,” Luna blurted.

  Way to make pleasant conversation.

  They were passing through a hall with a mirror making one entire wall.

  Mirror, if he pushes me against one, he could do me from behind while I still get to see his face. That would be sweet and fun.

  ‘Luna, focus!’

  Right... come on, look at that face! Even in the reflection, it's as impossibly perfect as when I look at him straight.

  They passed through the hall into a small foyer, the music was loud, but it was still pleasant.

  Sounds like there is an entire orchestra. Hmm… that table seems to be the right height… come on Raven, bend me over it, tear the skirt and get to work!

  ‘Luna!’

  They walked to the door and guards opened for them. They entered the hall and stood at a small balcony next to stairs leading down.

  The balcony parapet seems long enough if he bends me over it…

  ‘LUNA!’

  Right… wait.

  It hit her from all sides. The smell of all the people inside was overwhelming.

  All these young people, all these girls, half-naked girls with perfumes.

  It’s like a grand buffet of pretty girls who are all wrapped like little presents.

  Luna reached into her dress, took the drug balls and swallowed a fistful of them.

  “Hold me!” she ordered Raven. He caught her hand and led her down the stairs.

  What do I do? I can’t go with this through the whole night. I don’t have enough of the drug balls for it. I need something else… alcohol!

  “Bar!” she demanded. Raven obliged and took left on the stairs, the opposite side to where the bar was.

  “Is there something with my face?” Raven asked suddenly. Luna looked around and realized everyone around stopped moving and just stared. A woman even dropped a glass as she just stared at Raven wide-eyed.

  “It’s ugly and out of place, keep moving!”

  The crowd naturally made space for them to pass through and Luna navigated them to the bar.

  I guess this is what being invisible feels like. I would bet not a single one of the people who are staring at us even noticed I am here.

  That’s not the problem here though. It's the crowd of girls and ladies who are gathering behind us! He’s
mine! BITCH OFF!

  Luna snarled at them and motioned them off. Nothing. They didn’t see her. It was like she wasn’t there. They finally made it to the bar. The barman stared a bit, then took out what looked like a really expensive bottle and pulled a full glass.

  “On the house, sir.”

  Even the men? Seriously?

  ARRRGHH!

  “Something strong!” she barked at the bartender.

  “Right!” he replied, “that will be one silver coin.” He served her some clear liquid.

  Why do I have to pay? That’s so unfair!

  “Cheers Raven!” she turned to him.

  Where is Raven?

  Luna turned left to where Raven was seconds ago but saw just backs of some women.

  Oh no, no, no, no, no!

  This is supposed to be my night with Raven!

  MY! NIGHT!

  She tried to push through the women, but they just shrug her off. There was over twenty of them. Raven was completely surrounded.

  I had one job… one!

  AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHH!

  How do I get past them? The only way I know to get through a crowd is violence, but even if I do get to Raven, what do I do then? The crowd will just follow in every step. Fucking hell, they are crawling all over him already. The look of confusion on Raven’s face is sweet and all, but I have no idea what to do. I need help. A lot of it.

  ‘Try Iowen?’

  Right! I hope she will have a way to get me out of this. If she doesn’t, she better have her silk gloves and blanket and whatever else she fucking needs! These drugs are more than just effective and I feel like I will burn out from the inside if I don’t get anything.

  17

  Iowen

  Iowen was having a reasonably nice evening. The party was massive and fun. Her team was gloriously awkward as they had no idea what to do and were drooling over her ass just as she had expected. Well, aside from Robert and Battista Albertti who each grabbed a couple of random girls and disappeared in the crowd.

  The downside was, Lucas was nowhere to be seen. It’s not like he didn’t tell her he wouldn’t be around.... but she still wished it was just another trick on his side and he would show up anyway.

  I will meet you on the roof after midnight…. what the hell am I supposed to do till then? The Urushnii are a lost cause because they see me as being with another man and thus wouldn’t touch me. The Albertti brothers are fun, but I have been around them for too long now to get anything special out of it. If I don’t get any special fun tonight, then when?

  I wonder how Luna is doing with that boy of hers. I guess I might as well go poke her a little.

  “Iowen! Help me!” Luna bumped into her from behind.

  Well, that solved itself fast.

  “Say please,” Iowen turned around with a huge smile.

  Let’s check, hair in each hand, tooth marks on lip, massively dilated pupils and burning skin.

  Damn girl! What the hell have you been doing? You look like you haven’t fucked in a decade.

  This will be fun.

  “Please help me!” Luna pleaded, visibly desperate.

  “I have just arrived, let's grab a drink first and enjoy the atmosphere for a moment.”

  “This won’t wait!”

  “Rushing leads to failure. We have the entire night and I haven’t even had time to enjoy myself yet,” Iowen smiled.

  “Come with me!” Luna jabbed and grabbed her hand, then started moving Iowen through the crowd.

  Fast learner, isn’t she? Yesterday she could barely walk in these shoes; now she is dashing so fast I need to focus to keep up.

  Luna led Iowen to the bar.

  “How do I get past that?” she demanded.

  “Past what?” Iowen scanned the crowd.

  What’s with all the women there. Oh… by the heavens.

  “You are joking, right? THAT’s Raven?” Iowen saw the center of the crowd.

  “Aham.”

  Are you telling me you have been living with this God of beauty and done nothing the whole time?

  “We need a drink first,” Iowen stated.

  “I’ve already had one; we need to do something!” Luna countered.

  Yea, I need to take Raven for a few rounds.

  Iowen grabbed Luna with her left hand, pulled them both together and smiled straight in front of her face.

  “Let’s start with a checkup,” Iowen smiled as she slipped her gloved hand by Luna’s body down under her robes.

  Like a hungry horse.

  Luna turned red but didn’t turn away or protest.

  “You would fuck right here on the floor if you could, wouldn’t you?”

  Luna looked at her, eyes wide and nodded.

  Alright, Luna, Lucas isn’t here to amuse me, so I will play with you a little.

  “We don’t really have time for that though. Unless you would be satisfied with something done hastily,” Iowen smiled.

  “What’s the problem?”

  Very hungry horse.

  “There will be the grand revelation of the tournament details, team introductions and I have my midnight date,” Iowen explained.

  “Oh come on, you can’t possibly expect me to last that insanely long?” Luna pleaded.

  Much longer actually and yes, I will enjoy every second of it.

  “Well, if it goes well we might manage something between midnight and introductions.”

  We won’t but it’s better to keep her motivated.

  “Now bring us some drinks,” Iowen smiled.

  Luna seemed like she wanted to protest but didn’t and went to get the drinks.

  Good puppy! Maybe this evening won’t be so bland after all.

  18

  Salazar

  Am I seriously that unknown?

  This question was running through Salazar’s head the entire night. He took the traveling clothes on purpose to not attract much attention. But he did expect someone to recognize him. A few people, at the very least. That just didn’t happen.

  Talk about a new experience.

  He coursed aimlessly through the stacked halls of the festival and hoped someone would recognize him.

  “Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Is that you?” A woman started to freak out nearby.

  Finally!

  They turned around.

  “Captain d’Airelle! I never imagined I would meet you! It’s such an honor!"

  Seriously?

  “I am a huge fan of yours, please let me take you for a drink,” the woman went on.

  Salazar slipped from the group and disappeared into the crowd.

  Fine! If I am not having fun, I might as well get to work.

  He went on to comb through the hall to find any threatening opponents.

  What is with this demonic feeling all over the place? It’s not like there are any demons present, so it means it’s either their followers or people somehow influenced by them. Is that why Lucas is getting involved?

  Anyway, from what I can gather, the teams are evenly split between slavers and adventurers. At least this part of the deal stands. The slaves are mostly unreadable, except that I sense surprising amounts of demonic influence from them in general. From the adventurers, it’s the typical mixture of good for nothing wanderers and various magic users. Nobody is truly famous. The Urushnii are most likely from Alog, which is potentially dangerous. Not that I have ever met him before, but Tal’Sec is said to be no joke. From the strange people, there is the godly handsome bloke at the bar. I mean, I am not into men, but even I do find him attractive. I guess it’s some type of magic, possibly an illusion. He doesn’t seem to be too happy about it though since the crowd of girls follows him even to the toilets. Then there is the strange girl’s couple. One is kind of weird; I can’t think of any race with light blue skin. Plus, the red dress is suspiciously provocative. The second one is barely adult and orbiting around the one in the red dress. This younger one feels dangerous. In terms of being a threat, the you
ng girl tops the list. Pretty face could be seriously dangerous if the magic he uses to look pretty is controlled. Afterward, come the Urushnii… if they got someone who can do magic. Otherwise… the rest is meh at best. The only real variables are a pretty face and what monsters do the slavers bring?

  Anyway… time for the grand reveal, I wonder how shall I steal it from Palcher? At the end of the day, he is the head of the tournament and I am just the vice-chairman.

  Salazar headed towards where the rest of the organizers were gathering. All were present aside from Palcher.

  “It is good to see your highness has decided to stop hiding from his guard,” sneered Katherine as he walked towards her. She was waiting close to the gathering area of the organizers.

  “Here I was thinking the captain of my team would appreciate me checking the competition,” Salazar jabbed back.

  “I will expect your written report tomorrow,” she smiled.

  “What else did you think I was doing?” Salazar pushed.

  “Showing the grandness of the count to some cute young blond adventurer that you happened to spot in the crowd,” Katherine remarked poisonously.

  The description is suspiciously spot on.

  “Oh please, Katherine, you do know that my loyalty to countess d’Ielle is unquestioned,” Salazar countered.

  “Until you leave Xona. Outside, we have caught your highness twelve times over the past three years and I doubt we managed to get you all of the times,” Katherine smiled back.

  Twelve? That’s almost half of them. It seems that my adventures are way less secretive than I had thought. Either that or it’s a bluff, but she does have the correct profile, so she did catch me at least a few times. I guess Katherine does indeed deserve a raise… but not too much, so I have space to add if she ever finds out about Sibyl.

  “Would you like to imply something, captain?”

  “Yes. I don’t care what you do with others, but I would appreciate if you kept your secret romances outside of the team,” Katherine answered.

  Reasonable request… guess I won’t have my fun with Yvonne anytime soon.

  “I agree.”

  “Greetings, gentlemen,” he opened as he approached the other organizers, leaving Katherine together with the other guards.