Unfortunately Bound

PROLOGUE- "Are All Human Men Like This, Or Just The Stupid Ones?"

"Your Highness?"

"...Your Highness?"

"Er... King? Are you awake?"

The King opened his eyes at the same time the ragged man lying upon the ground did.

The man shirked away from the fiercely glowing red gaze, hunching closer to the ground and scraping his bloodied elbows against the stone. A knight yanked him up by his scraggly ponytail a second later, nearly ripping the hairs from his head. The man didn't cry,  didn't make a sound, simply turned his bold gaze upon the podium in front of him, stained with various fluids. The podium that emanated a putrid scent as well, one that made his throat burn and close up. The King stared down at him, shadows lurking behind him and curving occasionally into the shapes of ten figures. They might have been men; might have been demons, the man did not know. The King waved his hand in a complicated gesture at the knight holding him up, and the knight let go, making the man fall to the ground again, face first. His chin thunked against the stone painfully.

"What is this pathetic thing you have brought before his Majesty?"

The man looked up again, with much difficulty, and squinted. One of the shadows resolved into a shape, came forward. It looked... human, almost, but it had been the thing that had spoken and the voice was not a mortal one. He struggled not to clap his hands over his ears as the words echoed, writhed and pulled at his mind before dissipating suddenly. The knight and the shadow continued speaking, ignoring the man's agony and the way he began pulling at his own hair.

"It is a sacrifice, Your Highness. Found upon a circle in the place of large rocks. To my knowledge, it is from the villagers in the nearby town."

"His Majesty does not deserve a better sacrifice than a scruffy child?"

"I believe the town has been having difficulties, and this was all they could spare. A measly sacrifice, yes."

"His Majesty does not believe in eating children."

"I know. My sincere apologies."

"His Majesty would like to know what you expect him to do with this... poor excuse for a meal."

"I do not know, Your Highness. Would you like me to simply dispose of him?"

"His Majesty approves of that plan."

The other shadows twisted, formed into humanoid shapes as well. The man could almost pick them out, could make out features among the darkness. Smiling wine-coloured lips on the one to the left, a flicker of blue hair from the one behind the throne. The man saw a metal claw, a golden ribbon around a pale wrist, a frown. He was to die today, and this was the last thing he was going to see? Formless shadows with a hint of humanity? What a truly pathetic way to go. That, or he had gone insane, and this was all in his head anyway. That was pathetic as well. He began snickering under his breath, still struggling to keep his gaze on the shadows swaying around the King's throne. The knight standing over him took a step back, seemingly confused by the man's reaction to his imminent demise. The King tilted his head to the left slightly, expression unchanged. The shadow beside him quivered.

"His Majesty would like to know why the sacrifice laughs."

"I... I do not know, Your Highness."

"His Majesty is asking the sacrifice, scum."

A woman's voice this time, sharp like a blade and colder than ice. The man laughed harder, pressing his forehead into the stone. It scraped against his skin, likely removing more skin from his body. His knees were bleeding, sluggishly- he could feel the wetness sticking to his legs. It was then it occurred to him that he was naked as well, gloriously naked and facing the gaping maw of death and insanity. He closed his eyes, and then there was dust hitting his side...