Hope in the Highlands

4

Kaji awoke, her thoughts foggy like in the early morning on the hills of her home. The bars of her cell was open for free time and that was when she realized she must have slept since the last free time. Briefly, she remembered Ashric coming and giving her something to drink, which meant she'd been asleep for at least a full day.

As she stood up and peaked around the corner, it dawned on her that she was in Ashric's cell instead of her own. What? What's going on? she mentally asked herself, knitting her brows together in confusion. More importantly, where was he?

She rounded the corner toward Ther, who was standing watch at the end of the hallway. A few feet in front of her was the balcony that overlooked the prison's lower levels.

The prisoners and guards shouted in excitement and glee, their voices too chaotic for Kaji to pick up on specific sentences.

"You," Ther said, snatching Kaji's arm.

"Wh - What's going on? What did I do?" Kaji's eyes widened and her heart pounded furiously in her chest.

"Time for the pit-fights!" Ther shouted in her ear, his hot, foul breath making her cringe.

He shoved her to two other guards who dragged her down the corridor to the far right. Other prisoners both male and female shouted intensely at her and the guards as they followed behind them.

Kaji's feet struggled to keep up with the guards' long strides, but their grips were far too tight for her to relax. Her heart raced faster and faster for she knew what was coming.

They led her into a vast chamber that overlooked a deep circular pit. It continued far below her, too far to see the end of it, but Kaji had witnessed the pit fights herself and had heard the stories. Two prisoners were thrown in. A magical symbol at the bottom healed their broken bones and other wounds until they were well enough to fit. The winner of the fight would be thrown a rope to climb up. The loser would stay down there until he or she won. The rune's healing magic, rumors were, was slow and excruciatingly painful despite that it sped up the body's healing process. No one knew what the magical rune was for or where it came from, let alone who had originally drawn it there.

"Have fun, girly. Doubt you're going to beat him!" Ther shouted in her ear as the guards hurled her over the edge.

*****

The guards threw Ashric into one of the isolation cells, but he had no idea which one it was until the iron door closed and locked behind him. Flames licked the floors in front of him coating the walls, the ceiling, every inch of the cell except for the single stone he stood upon.

Stifling heat instantly overtook him and Ashric coughed, wheezing for breath. Somehow, there was no smoke in the room, but the flames themselves were so intensely hot that it kept him from breathing easily. Faintly he could hear screams from other prisoners occupying the other cells.

The flames suddenly grew larger, their heat more intense. "Turn up the flames, boys!" Soon it became difficult to concentrate, even as the flames went back to normal, but from where Ashric was standing with fire just a few feet from any part of his body, the heat alone began to burn his skin.

White, excruciating pain tore through him and soon his screams joined in the chorus of other terror-filled prisoners. His thoughts became rattled, so much so that he didn't even have time to wonder how he would last a week in this cell.

*****

Kaji's stomach flew into her throat as gravity was wrenched from around her. Her chest ached and her breathing stopped entirely as she fell. Darkness surrounded her vision as she waited for the impact.

Nothing prepared her for the agony that consumed her when her body slammed against the ground at the bottom of the pit. Lights flashed in her blurry vision and she suspected it was light from the rune. Blood pooled from her forehead onto her face and her arm and leg seared in pain.

A large form hovered over her as it grabbed her shirt collar. "I'm not losing this time!" the form shouted and that was when Kaji realized the form was a bulky man.

He threw her across the room and her body impacted against the wall with a harsh thud. It stole her breath away and as Kaji writhed there, gasping and breathless, the bulky man stormed over to her and kicked her in the stomach.

Kaji curled into herself and threw up what little rat meat she had onto the ground beside her. The stomach acids burned her mouth as the man knelt over her. Again and again, he punched her face, sending fresh waves of pain through her cheeks, jaw, eyes, and forehead as his fist connected over and over.

Unconsciousness and darkness brought Kaji beneath its cold embrace.