Chapter III

Alec was lifting his hundredth brick while his arms killed him with the pain. His skin was still bleeding, and some scars already showed on his arms and legs from the torture. It was painful, but doing hard labour silently was his way of revolt. Alec wanted to show the Mad King that he was not going to talk no matter how much he hurt him. Keith was the most important person to him after his family, and he would never betray their friendship.

Carl pushed him strongly to quicken his steps, and the prisoner was about to lose his balance, but thankfully he had a quick reflex. Alec mumbled a curse and threw the brick with the rest. They were constructing a private garden for the queen, and they forced him to work in order to speed up the construction.

The sun was burning like a flame, and Alec started to feel weak. He only had a piece of bread and a few droplets of water in many hours, and his body was urging him to take a rest. But he couldn't, not when he could make his best friend in danger.

"You're slow!" shouted Joshua as he punched his face strongly, and this time the prisoner fell down and groaned. His head hurt, and he felt dizzy.

"Come on, get up, you lazy bastard!" ordered the guard and pulled his arm forcefully. Joshua made him walk to his cell and pushed him on the ground that was still stained with blood— his own.

Once again, Alec sat down on his knees and waited for the guards to hurt him. But this time, they weren't alone, the king came to pay a visit.

It had been almost a week since he had emprisoned Alec, and he was still not saying a word about his friend. The Mad King watched his prisoner lift heavy bricks and faint from the heat from afar. He enjoyed seeing him suffer while he sat comfortably on his throne.

"I have never seen someone as stubborn as you are." muttered the king as he entered the cell.

Alec scoffed, "There's a first for everything." he mumbled and received a slap from Carl, who was standing next to him.

"Stubborn and disrespectful." added the king. He walked closer to Alec and crouched before him to take a closer look at his face.

Alec lifted his head to face the king and looked straight at his dark eyes. He gulped because he looked so much like his best friend; they had the same feline-shaped eyes and a similar stare when they're angry.

"Why do you want to know about him so badly?" whispered Alec.

"That is none of your business. Do you like being tortured?" the king raised an eyebrow. "Or maybe do you like violence? Would you like me to show you?"

Alec scoffed, "Yes, I like violence. What do you have to tell me about this?"

"Right." the king nodded and stood up. He pulled a sword from Joshua's grip and looked around to pick a man from the ones standing behind him to guard the cell. He grabbed his arm, pushed him to the ground and made him kneel. 

The king looked at Alec and smirked, "Watch me." he lifted his head, and soon he slammed it on his guard, cutting his head to make it roll on the ground.

The Mad King ordered his men to take the body outside the cell as he laughed heavily. He then looked at Alec and realized he wasn't scared nor surprised. The prisoner did not even flinch as he was used to doing the same almost every night. Being a hitman makes death less frightening.

"Impressive," commented Alec. "A little lacking sword skill but impressive." he shrugged.

The king frowned and threw the sword on the ground as he watched Alec smirk. His arms and legs were covered with old and fresh scars, there were bruises everywhere on his skin and his lips were dry from dehydration and yet he stayed as strong as ever. The king could not understand how someone could resist so much pain.

"Now that you have spoken of sword skill, I have something perfect for you." said the long-haired man as he approached his prisoner. "If you think you are that powerful then you will have to prove it to me. Win the battle against my best soldier, and I will believe you. It will not happen, of course, but you would have tried."

The king signalled Carl and Joshua to help Alec stand up so that he could face him.

"You may have survived torture, but your days will come to an end once you battle him."

"We'll see that," scoffed Alec. "I am one of the best swordsmen in the capital."

The two guards tried not to laugh as they saw how confident Alec looked. The king only smirked and walked out of the cell. "You better take advantage of the few hours you have left. Tomorrow morning, your existence will be erased from this world."

A huge crowd surrounded the small arena that was outside the palace. It was a day of entertainment for the servants and the guards.

Alec walked towards the centre, heading towards his opponent. He was barefoot, and his clothes were all torn and dirty. He looked around and realized the crowd is bigger than the one he used to entertain with his best friend in the village. But today, he was not going to fake a fight to win some coins, but to fight for his life.

The king was sitting in the stands of the arena, surrounded by his men. He was peacefully sipping his wine while he was waiting for the battle to begin.

Alec approached his adversary and realized he was the king's personal guard; the one who never left his side. He was bigger in size and looked stronger, but the young man did not want his appearance to discourage him.

He has been training with Keith for many years, and they have practised swordsmanship plenty of times. It was a part of his life, his routine, he could not let another man scare him.

Soon the battle has begun, and Alec was given his own sword, the one that has been taken from him back in the village.

His opponent wasted no time in attacking him first. Alec was tired and sore all over, but he managed to dodge him by crouching as he positioned his weapon well in his grip. He held the sword perfectly and levelled it with the man's nose just like he had learnt.

Alec's breaths were loud and slow as he eyed his rival's weapon. His eyes moved at the same time as it and followed its movement thoroughly before he clashed his sword with the man's, pushing him back strongly.

A loud 'oh' could be heard around the arena. That was not something the public was used to see as the king's previous prisoners gave in from the beginning or were too weak to defeat his guard.

Alec was different, and he managed to catch their attention— as well as the king. The floor was burning Alec's bare soles, which increased his impatience and rage. He was anxiously clutching his sword with one hand as the other was opening and closing nervously. He was tired and hadn't slept well because of the muscle pain, but he could not give up now. Alec was not doing that only to prove the king wrong but also for his survival. He had to stay alive for his sister, his little brother, Keith, and even his father.

His opponent attacked again, and this time Alec was not quick enough to dodge him entirely. The guard succeeded to cut his arm, which provoked the public to clap for him and encourage his strength.

Alec decided to ignore his injury and took advantage of the taller man's moment of victory to make him stumble to the ground and block him by placing his sword around his neck. The crowd went silent again as the prisoner stared at his opponent coldly. But as Alec's arm were not strong enough now, the man swiftly freed himself and disarmed him.

The king smirked as he watched Alec's sword fall to the ground. There was nothing he could do right now. His guard was dominating the fight as he expected. The young man was hurt and left trails of blood behind him, and soon he was going to lose control over his arm.

But Alec has always been a man of many surprises. He was smaller but had quicker and smoother movements. He managed to pick up his weapon before the heavy swordsman and landed a blow behind his knee to send him off balance. Alec gained a good position to disarm the man and block his hands behind his back.

The king retreated from his comfortable position and stood up. His breaths were getting slower as he watched his guard struggle to free himself from Alec's grip. He could not be that strong; why was he taking the lead now?

Alec drew his sword and looked around to search for the king. Once he found him, he smirked and moved his weapon the same way he did the day before when he killed the innocent man. In a matter of seconds, the prisoner slashed the guard's neck but in a cleaner and swifter manner than the king.

Later, the guard's body was taken from the centre of the arena, and the crowd cheered for Alec, who fell to the ground from exhaustion. But despite the pain, he turned to the king and mouthed, "I told you."

⚔

Alec is a badass 👀

⚔ What did you think of Alec's sword performance?

⚔ Now that he has killed his guard, what do you think the king will do?

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