Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: The Sorceress' Knights Tournament

Chapter 6

I woke up with a headache. It felt like someone had used my head as a gong.

I looked around, but I couldn't see anything. It took me a moment to realize that there was a blindfold covering my eyes. I tried to stand up, but my hands and legs were bound, leaving me unable to do more than squirm.

A shrill cry pierced the air. If my eyes hadn't been blindfolded, they would have widened. That voice was Elincia!

"Hey, boys, check this out! It seems the little elf girl doesn't like it when I do this!"

Another scream of pain pierced the air.

"It seems even those arrogant elves can feel pain."

"Ha! Let's enjoy breaking her in before our client arrives."

The men, three of them, it sounded like, laughed as more screams rang out, echoing around the room and stabbing into my soul like a blade. Ele was screaming! She was in pain! I needed to do something!

I struggled even more to no avail. I was completely bound. This didn't stop me. I struggled even more, wiggling and fighting and straining against my bonds until I could feel warm liquid running down my arms. Ele needed me!

Ele's cries of pain had become whimpers. Laughter erupted. As I continued to struggle, I felt a deep burning in his chest, like a million hot needles stabbing me. If only I could use magic! If only had a weapon! If only then I was stronger!

If only...

***

Caspian woke up with a groan.

Sitting up in his fuuton, he rubbed his eyes and glanced around the room. It wasn't his room, but the one that he and Elincia had booked last night. It was rather plain, even when compared to the spartan room that he stayed in at the academy, but at least it was clean.

Cold air hit the bare skin of his torso, but he barely paid attention to that as he stood up. A glance at the bed revealed Elincia, who slept peacefully underneath the covers. Her closed eyes revelled in her thick eyelashes, and her pink mouth was parted to allow for her gentle breathing.

Drawn to his friend like a moth was drawn to a flame, Caspian sat down on the bed and reached out with a hand, gently brushing a few strands of hair from Elincia's face. As he did this, she moved, revealing a scar that started from just below her hairline and disappeared into her hair. It was barely visible now, just a small white line.

When he and Elincia had been kidnapped, his friend had been tortured. "Breaking her in," the men who'd done the torturing had called it. This scar was, surprisingly, not the results of that torture, but the result of his own actions when he'd attempted to rescue her.

***

I couldn't understand it. One moment, I was struggling against my bonds. The next, a single word left my lips, then the ropes disappeared, and I was free.

Surging to my feet, I pulled off my blindfold and the gag in my mouth. What I saw that night would be forever branded into my memory.

Within the dark room, three men surrounded Ele, who'd been chained to a wall. They'd stripped her bare. She had no bruises, but it was clear to me that she was in pain. She gasped and gargled and tried to scream. Tears leaked down her face, and her body shuddered in what could only be horrendous agony. A collar was attached to her neck. I had seen them before—on slaves. It was a slave collar, which had been banned years ago.

The three men standing around Ele taunted her, laughing as they activated the collar, jeering as my friend screamed in anguish. Anger surged in my veins. Like a thunderous storm, I felt something inside of me threatening to break free.