The Life of Monsters

1. Of Boys and Beasts

"Once upon a time, there was a little boy, who lived in a little house in a little town, right by the big blue sea. For hours each day, the boy would wander to the beachside, where the waves lapped playfully against the sand and the gulls cried their woes away. Underneath the warmth of the sun, with the sparkling ocean ahead of him, the boy would dream all sorts of impossible things."

From Remarks on Life by Lusquiela the Mad

Blinking their eyes, Number Nine awoke from yet another dreamless sleep, coming face to face with the pure darkness of their cell. One hour until dawn: it was the same time Nine woke up every day, and they could feel the chill of the early hours calling their name. Then another voice, one that was quite real, joined in.

"Hey! Nine! Get the hell up you freak!" Briel, Nine's guard, yelled through the door. He had been personally assigned to Nine for two years now, constantly tormenting Nine to fuel his own hatred.

Nine growled lightly, not threateningly, just to let Briel know that they had heard, and pushed themself up into a kneeling position. As soon as they were situated, they growled again, the usual signal for Briel to come in. There was the light clink of keys, then the sound of the door unlocking and being pushed open before Nine's head was shoved down towards the ground.

"Nothing I won't like, got it? Theyra's got some special guest or something, and she won't be having you mess it up. That means I get to have some fun today, you hear?" Nine froze, the idea of an important guest only making their mind run wild with possibilities for today's 'festivities'.

"I said: 'you hear'?" Briel yelled, shoving Nine down onto the ground and stepping harshly on their head. Nine growled lightly, and Briel backed off, having gotten his answer. "Now, you'll behave, won't you?" Nine growled again and Briel chuckled at their obedience, leaning down and harshly tugging their arms behind their back into a pair of cuffs.

Once all the usual metal was in place, Briel yanked Nine into a standing position, pushing them forward towards the door. "Walk," he ordered harshly, and Nine obeyed immediately, knowing exactly where Briel wanted them to go. It was the same place Nine had gone almost every day since they arrived at Lady Theyra's manor.

Walking out onto the 'training grounds', as Theyra's men called it, Nine could see there were already quite a few soldiers waiting for them. Stopping exactly where they were supposed to, Nine was suddenly shoved to the ground by Briel, who called out to the men, "So, who's first, gentleman? Bets on the freak today, or are we feeling generous for the poor jules?" Laughter rang out across the field at a joke Nine only barely tried to comprehend.

Minutes passed as coins were traded between men, all chatting about the morning's fight. Like every other day, they would place bets on either Nine or another of their prisoners, who they would force to fight Nine. Based on the men's reactions, Nine guessed it would be an easy win that morning. Well, it should have been, but the men were merciless as they took turns kicking and punching the helpless Nine, if only to weaken Nine and make their fight harder, simply for the men's twisted amusement.

But Nine was so used to it at that point, that they barely reacted to the cruel treatment of the soldiers, choosing instead to conserve their energy for the fight.

When the soldiers were done with their 'fun' they all returned to their duties, eagerly awaiting the time when they could see their work come to fruition. At the moment though, Briel got busy putting Nine to work, forcing them to the stables and outhouse to do the dirty work. Briel was so used to Nine's obedience and so bored with the chores that he often left Nine alone at these times, giving Nine some much appreciated time to themself.

~~~~~~~~~~

Nine had just finished dumping out the last bucket of filth when they felt something hard hit their head, making them stumble as their vision swam. "Freak!" Briel called from only twenty feet away, a twisted smile on his face. "Come," he ordered, and Nine obeyed like the dog that they were.