The Price of Freedom: Innocence Lost

Words Of Encouragement

"Water." You say again, tipping your head back a little and holding up a cupped hand like you're holding a water skin, trying to make a drinking motion.

The boy seems to realize what you're saying and holds the bucket out to you. "Water?" He asks.

"Yes, water." You tell him, filling up your own water skin and drinking the whole thing in a few large gulps before filling it up again. "Thank you." You tell the boy.

"Thank you." He repeats. You don't think he knows what it means, but he gives you a little smile when he says it.

It's then that you hear a wail of pain and turn to notice that all the students are starting to gather in a circle. You walk over to them and look over some of the smaller children's shoulders to see what's going on. It looks like a simple training exercise turned nasty. The young boy you saw training with the net earlier has been disarmed, and an older girl with long, blonde hair tied back in a braid is looming over him, laughing as she repeatedly beats him with a wooden sword. You catch a glimpse of Rhode standing at the edge of the training grounds, watching from a distance but doing nothing to intervene.

"You're pathetic Brasus!" The blonde girl screams, bringing the sword down across the boy's back and causing him to cry out in pain again.

"Please stop it Gerda!" The boy begs, but the girl ignores his pleas and hits him again.

"You think covering your head and crying will help you in the arena? You won't last five minutes! They're going to slice you to ribbons!" Gerda teases him, bringing down her wooden sword on his right shoulder. "There! You just lost an arm!" While Brasus tries to edge away, she brings the sword down on his left shoulder. "Your other arm!" She then takes a step back and starts hitting the back of his knees. "Both your legs!" She shouts, cruelly smiling at the boy's sobs as he cowers in a ball, making no move to defend himself. "And now you're dead." Gerda says, bringing the sword up as high as she can reach, ready to bring it down over the boy's head.

"You Little!" You hear Lula scream as she tries to push her way past the other students. "Leave boy alone and try hit me!" She dares the girl. "I rip out you pretty hair and strangle you with it!"

You should probably do something, but on the other side of the circle of students, you see Alexius watching you, shaking his head as if silently asking you not to get involved. He doesn't want you getting into trouble.

"Get up!" You find yourself yelling at the boy. A few of the other children turn to stare at you, but you ignore them. "What's wrong with you? You're just going to lie there and let her beat you into the ground? Get up! Fight back!"

Lula has stopped her angry rampage now and is staring at you, wondering if there's any logic in your approach and waiting to see what happens. Gerda brings the wooden sword down hard and Brasus only just manages to raise his arm in time to stop the sword snapping over his head. He lets out a cry of pain and holds his arm, trying to back away from his attacker. "Come on!" You shout at the boy, irritably. "You can't just let her get away with that! Get the sword! Hit her back!"

"Shut up!" Gerda screams, turning around and lifting her sword as she starts to advance on you. The other students get out of her way to avoid getting hit, but before the girl gets close enough to attack you, Brasus lets out an angry shout and jumps on Gerda's back, knocking her to the ground.

At that point, the rest of the children start cheering and gather in close to watch as Brasus gets his revenge, pummeling her with punches that don't look like they hurt too much, considering the boy's physical appearance, but they are enough to keep the girl pinned down long enough to humiliate her in front of everyone.

You catch Alexius looking at you with a bright smile on his face. He knows that Brasus wouldn't have stuck up for himself if you hadn't cheered him on and he looks proud of you.

Suddenly the crowds part as your trainer Rhode approaches the group. Brasus quickly gets to his feet, and Gerda walks over to Rhode, spitting out a mouthful of blood and looking furious. "Look what that little brat did to me!" She screams, but is quickly silenced when Rhode gives her a sharp slap across her face.

"Yes, look at what he did to you!" She snaps. "The boy's nearly five years younger than you and you let him get the upper hand! If you're not strong enough to fight off a little boy, then you deserve worse than a split lip! Now get back to training!" She orders her, before looking around at the rest of the children who had gathered to watch the show. "All of you!"

The rest of the children quickly scatter to get back to their training, and you are about to walk away yourself when Rhode puts a firm hand on your shoulder, keeping you still. You look up at her nervously, worried what you've done to make her angry. Instead, you see an amused smile on her lips. "I never thought that Brasus would work up the nerve to stick up to her." She says quietly so only you can hear. "He's a pathetic boy. Master Titus bought him on an impulse because he had a pretty face like you. He doesn't understand that a living, ugly slave is worth more than a dead, pretty one. Still, you got him to fight back. I don't know how you did it, but keep it up. Maybe we'll get that boy to survive his first fight after all." With that, Rhode fondly ruffles your hair and walks away, letting you get back to your training.

The rest of your training is long and hard and by the end of the day you can barely stand. Still, you've gotten stronger and more importantly, Rhode has taught you a valuable lesson. If you want the ones you care about to survive, they need to be able to fight for themselves.