Ruler's Trials

Chapter 8

The noise in the arena was deafening. The crowd chanted his name, "Savar, Savar, Savar." There is only one opponent left in front of him. Karel looked into his eyes and calmly knelt in front of him.

The noise in Karel's head merged into one background noise. His concentration was completely on the warrior in front of him. To a strong, powerful, dazzling man. Savar.

Every cell in his body demanded the same. And for the first time since he met him, he decides to surrender to a moment, a moment of strength, a moment of weakness. A move that could cost him his life.

Savar was on top of the world. The first Ruler in the new history of the Empire. What his family aspired to for years, he fulfilled. Although he was questioned and doubted since the moment he was born, he was now everything that every Snajan wanted to be, a perfect example of a man, a husband, a father. The strongest and most capable. Savar looked down at Karel, who was kneeling before him.

Karel lowered his head to the floor and stretched his arms out in front of him, palms up.

Savar's heart jumped and his smile turned into shock. He blinked. Karel's palms were facing down. But that moment will forever be engraved in his memory.

The President of the Commission came down to the arena to meet Savar and raise his right hand high in the air. "The first Ruler of the Snajan Empire is Savar!"

The enthusiasm of the crowd was contagious, the celebration echoed through the arena. But Savar's gaze was on the body of a small man at his feet.

"Savar! Tell him to get up," the President of the Commission reminded him.

"Karel, get up!"

Karel stood up with a smile on his face and congratulated him on his victory.

This is my biggest victory, but it's like I lost something. Savar smiled weakly and thanked him. He turned to the crowd, greeting them. His mind tried to calm the turbulent sea of ​​thoughts and feelings. Now is the time to celebrate. Later, later there will be time for reckoning.

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Karel's relationship with his father has always been difficult and complicated. He and his eldest sister were considered difficult children. The fact that they could hardly be considered middle class did not contribute well to the situation. His father got a second wife after 10 years of marriage and after Karel's mother failed to give birth to a boy. Karel promised himself when he decided to leave his parents' home that if he ever succeeded, he would come back and help his sisters. His eldest sister was already married and her fate was sealed.

Karel waited calmly in the living room of his former home. A father, two mothers and girls were smiling from the wall across the street. Pictures showed them on various occasions. The sight of the eldest sister before the Change was still painful for Karel, and he turned his gaze from the wall to the tea served in front of him.

"Your Highness, welcome to my humble home. How can I help you?"

Karel looked at the old man who was his father, but even if he told him the truth, he wouldn't be able to understand who was standing in front of him, "You have two girls, 16 and 20 years old. I want them as concubines."

"The girls are beautiful, you have a great eye. But the younger one, Iva, still has to go through the Change. The older one, Nada, has of course already passed it."

"Irrelevant. The younger one will pass under my supervision.", Karel handed him the paper and stood up, "I assume you have no objections to the amount."

The old man's eyes widened in shock, "No, no. This is a suitable dowry."

"Good. I expect them to be at my home by tomorrow."

The older man bowed and saw him out.

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Karel sat in the dark, drinking whiskey and listening to Nada cry in his room. Ever since the girls arrived a few weeks ago, Nada had been obsessed with doing her duty, wanting to carry his child at all costs. Even being a concubine to a noble brought respect and easy life. She was well aware that her genes could get her only that far, but she wanted to make it the best of it. A child by the noble would guarantee she stayed in Karel's household.

The door to his room opened and quietly, on tiptoe, Nada crept in and stood behind him.

"Can you at least tell me why?"

"I wanted to save you from a potentially reckless husband and a fate you really, truly don't want."

Nada moved, standing in front of him, "What is this fate I don't want? Since I was little, I wanted to have a big family with lots of children. A husband capable of having many wives and protecting his large family. I might never have a husband and I have come to terms with that but don't take away from me the possibility of having a child."

"It's not true," Karel growled, "You always wanted to be a pilot."

"What pilot? What are you talking about?"

"Nevermind. Forget I said anything."

Nada started crying again, "Then give me to someone else. To someone who will fulfill my wish. My biggest wish."

Karel cursed and pulled her by the elbow, "You're coming with me."

"Where?"

"To the one who will make you the children you want so much."