Turning the Cards of Fate

Chapter 3

Everything was stiff and sore when he finally fought his way back to wakefulness. It was almost a shock going from drifting to trying not to scream in agony. He took a deep, carefully measured breath, yelling at himself mentally for being such a weakling. He was being pitiful, and that wasn't going to help anything.

The feel of warming metal against his chest gave him pause. Why was he...

It took a few moments for him to wake up, shoving down the panic. He had woke up in more pain than he was expecting, but that didn't mean anyone was going to hurt him this morning. For that matter, he wasn't sure they had time.

His eyes widened slightly. He had a meeting with a councilman today to decide his fate. He wasn't sure how he was going to be able to move at this point, but he would need to be able to not only walk, but seem presentable. He straightened his neck, wincing slightly as it pulled on the mess of scabs he was sure his back was.

Until someone came to let him loose, though, he was stuck here. Dread pulled in his stomach. They wouldn't leave him here for his meeting, would they?

A bitter laugh tried to come out of his dry, scratchy throat, coming out as more of a cough than anything. Of course they would. They wanted him dead.

After an hour or so, the sound of the door opening outside of his eyesight was almost enough to make him sigh in relief. Four sets of hands started pulling at his bindings, letting him loose. The chain around his neck, though was staying apparently.

He wondered if it was because the councilman feared for his safety instead from him of all people. Seeing as he was more being dragged than actually walking, he somehow doubted that he would be able to cause too much trouble.

A part of him wondered if that scene from the day before, of the little one getting hurt by a Guard was staged just so he wouldn't be able to do anything today. For all he knew, a beating a few hours before was standard procedure for all of those about to meet with someone important.

Then again, even if it was, it wouldn't matter much. His mind was slightly hazy, and he felt like he was freezing. He knew what that meant. He had an infection of some kind, which was strange. Usually, when they burned the whip marks, he didn't get infections of any kind.

Maybe there was something on the whip this time, a part of his mind wondered. He mentally snorted. That was moronic. They may have wanted him dead, but they most likely didn't want to poison him. Humans didn't do anything that they didn't gain something from, and getting him sick didn't serve any purpose.

Unless, of course, someone didn't want him to go to the meeting. Then, maybe. One didn't ignore summons from the council unless they wanted to be killed. He wasn't moronic enough to not go to the meeting though, even if he felt horrible.

It just made his eyes narrow, and his teeth grit. He would go to this meeting. This was the most important thing he would do in his, rather short if he failed, lifetime. He could do this. It wasn't guaranteed in any way that this would go his way, but if he didn't try, then he would die. The chance that he would live out the week was small, but it was enough to make sure that he tried his hardest to survive.

He was led to an area on the other side of the center, closer to the infant storeroom than to the part he was allowed in. The hallway was still the same dull white as the rest of the building, and in a way, it was soothing that even this close to such an important time, certain things remained unchanging.

They stopped at a door that didn't look any different than any of the others, but that didn't mean much, he supposed. For some reason, he really wished he had a robe at this point, if only so he could draw it closed around himself to hopefully stop the shivering.