The sound of the crowd overshadowed the pits as they roared madly with excitement. William's eyes darted around the room in search of his sister Leah.
They were two men in the fighting pits, badly injured, with blood and sand on their bodies. Then it began, chaos, everyone in the hall screaming, the fire touch in the room swaying as the men punched each other in the face.
William was diving through the crowd, the hoodie falling off his head. Just then he spotted Leah, her body reclined on a wall, a man leaning closer as they whispered something inconspicuously.
William walked up to them, coming in between them, and he turned to look at Leah.
Her small face was hidden behind the hoodies, with only a small portion in view.
"William, we might not have enough coin to pay; it looks like the guy with the spike is going to lose." Leah moved her eyes towards the fighting pit and then retracted them.
"Then we pay later; we have to go." William simply said, but the man Leah was talking to suddenly stepped forward.
"You are in the fighting pits; if you can't pay the coins, why did you wager it in the first place?" The man looked furious.
Leah's pupils began to dilate…
Suddenly the crowd roared, their screams shaking the room; the guy with the bald head and spikes lost.
"You see that…" the man said, pointing at the pits.
"I won the bet, so you are going to pay…in full." He underscored, and suddenly some more men came out from strategic hidden places in the arena. They all looked raggedy and poor, lowly commoners looking for a means to survive.
Their hair was unkempt, and their lips were chapped. The fighting pit was their means of survival; they would fight with blood and sweat, then wager coins. Nobody who makes a bet and then loses it goes Scout free.
"I will pay you… double the price, just let us go." William said, concealing his face with the hoodie.
"That's not how it's done, lad; either you pay the money right now, or you earn the money by fighting in the pits!
William's eyes darkened; he flashed a glare at his sister, Leah, who looked remorseful.
"Do you know who I am…?
"Here, statues don't matter, boy; either you fight or give us our money." The man had an accent.
When William realized how awful the situation had gotten, he grabbed Leah's wrist and took her aside.
"Don't move! He said in a firm voice, turning to leave, but Leah caught his wrist.
"Where are you going?
William slowly took her hand off him….
"…To fight!
He said then turned to leave; the cape-like black cloak swayed as he turned.
A naked lady with two boxes in her hand stepped into the fighting pits. Then placed the box on a table in the corner.
The two fighters must pick a weapon and use it to fight.
When William realized the person he was going to fight with was a giant, his heart thumped in his chest. The man was horribly tall, with long, shoulder-length brown hair, his muscles catching the light from the fire torches.
Sweat glistened on his body, his chest hair curled with beads of sweat. William chose a box; he dipped his hands inside and brought out a long iron rod. It was the man's turn…Glauber the giant.
He dipped his hands into the box and brought out a club, an iron rod at the top with spikes around it, and then a wooden handle.
A man with a wine bag in his hand staggered to the middle of the pits…
Now there is only one rule, and that is? He said, pointing his hand at the crowd, and they screamed.
"No rules!
The crowd cheered.
The only thing saving Leah from pinching her thumb was the black gloves enveloping her hand. But she bit her rosy lips, her small, dark almond eyes filled with remorse and fear of the unknown.
William can't fight; she knew that… She got him into this.
When the drunken announcer staggered away from the pits, Glauber didn't let the bell ring before raising the club in his hand to bring it up on William's head.
William dodged it; the black cloak concealing his face fell off, and his handsome face came into view. Although the scar on his left eye was still there, he was immensely handsome. This got the ladies in the arena lusting after him, tearing off their shirts and swinging them in the air.
"Let the boy with the dark hair win! A lady screamed, going mad with excitement.
"Ugh, I wish my husband was that handsome! Another lady groaned, clapping her hand as the fight began.
William couldn't attack, so he defended himself. Glauber was furious that William was having the favor of the ladies, so he launched incessant attacks on his opponent.
The club finally lands on William's back, and the latter screams, falling on both his knees and facing the ceiling as he screams. This ignited the excitement in the crowd, who were thirsty for blood.
Leah pursed her lips, a slight gasp escaping, as she swallowed hard. Tears stung her eyes as she watched her brother groan in excruciating pain.
"Please stop this! She turned around to gaze at the men that she wagered a bet with, but they were gone; she then turned around, her gaze resting on her brother.
"Boooooh!
The crowd, especially the ladies, was not happy the handsome man was hurt. Glauber was furious; he raised the club to strike William on his head, but the latter rolled away on the sand, the dust covering his face and sand gluing to his hair.
No one seemed to have realized William was a prince; it was a local pit for the commoners. None of them would have guessed a royal was being beaten to a pulp right in front of them.
Using the rod in his hand, William tried to hit Glauber on his stomach, but the latter caught his wrist midair. Clutching his shirt, Glauber lifted William from the ground with a single hand.
William was kicking in the air, feeling weightless, his struggling futile. Suddenly William spits on Glauber's face; since his face was close to the latter, Glauber shut his eyes instinctively.
Then angrily threw William to the side; William flew in the air before landing on the ground with a thud, his whole body quaking in pain.
The crowd went wild, clapping their hands.
Glauber! Glauber! Glauber!
The crowd began the hail, Glauber took in the moment. He spread his hands wide open, nodding his head to the rhythm of the crowd's voice as they chanted his name.
"Decreash!
Glauber hailed, and they screamed louder.
"Do you want to see me in action? He asked rhetorically, and they yelled. Then shifting his gaze to William, he began to make his way to where the latter was; just then a wooden axe swung from nowhere and landed on Glauber's head.
The sharp blade of the axe pierced through his head and got stuck. Glauber widened his eyes in shock, frantically moving backward. Blood erupted from his head as he slowly took the axe out but faltered and fell on the sand, and the ground shook from his gigantic fall.
Leah blinked the tears on her lashes away; too speechless for words, she merely looked around and spotted a man in a white cloak making his way out of the crowd. She couldn't go after him; she simply took notice of the silver chain on his wrist and then directed her gaze at the pit.
William saw this as an opportunity; he grabbed the club, which had faltered from Glauber's hand, and used it to hit the latter's face. The spikes on the weapon pierced Glauber's face; he did this repeatedly until he had disfigured Glauber's face and blinded his eyes with his own blood.
The crowd hailed, and the drunken announcer staggered to the middle of the pit. He took hold of William's hand and then raised it in the air…
"The winner! He announced, and the crowd cheered on. At first when the axe had swung from nowhere, everyone was shocked, but no, they didn't seem to care.
William made his way out of the pit, and Glauber was dragged out by two hefty men, his blood trailing as he was dragged away, and two new fighters stepped into the pits.
The woman walked up to William with a bag of coins.
"Give it to that man over there." William said pointing at the man who he owed coins, now his debt was paid.
Leah's breathing was already unstable due to weeping profusely; she ushered her way to where William was, then hugged him.
"I…I am so sorry." She whispered. William was in a horrible state, his hair covered with sand, his nose bleeding, and his body aching; he patted his sister on her back.
"Let's go home." He said, dragging her along with him.
...
"Ouch!
"Does it hurt?" Leah said, leaning away from his face, the candlelightin the chamber reflecting.
"Of course it does." William groaned in pain.
"Why won't you let me call the grandmaester? She questioned putting down the clean cloth she was using to wipe his bleeding nose.
"Then risk getting caught by the whole family—not an option." William said, slowly rising to his feet. He dips his hand into a silver basin on a tall stool at the corner of the room, which was filled with water and melange with rose petals.
He washed his face, then wiped it with a towel.
"I shouldn't have forced you; this is my fault, and I am deeply sorry." Leah said with a straight face, blinking her eyes rapidly, and then she sighed.
"You look pathetic when you apologize." William said as he used the towel to wipe his face.
"I am only trying to make up for what happened."
"That's not enough. Who was that man…?" William suddenly paused in his movement and then turned to gaze at his sister.
"The man that threw the axe… Who was he?"
"I have no idea; I am as clueless as you are."
"I owe him my life." William murmured and then flung the towel in his hand aside.
Leah fondled her hands… "The hour is late; I shall retire to bed." She cleared her throat and then turned around to leave.
"Why do you go there? The pits." William sits on the edge of his bed, then begins to pour himself wine.
Leah was quiet for a while.
"To quench the taste…of boredom." She lies.
"How many times have you been there?
"Once…maybe twice. Enough times to know I shouldn't have gone there today." Her voice was low in the dimly illuminated chamber.
William sipped from the wine and allowed the sweet taste to tingle on his tongue.
"Is there something you are not telling me? His deep voice echoed within the walls of the chamber.
Leah's gaze was distant; she clicked her tongue and then said…
"You need all the rest you can get; I will leave you to it." She said, then walked away, her steps echoing in the empty hallways.
William stared at the empty closed door of his chamber, then retracted his gaze, slowly pouring himself more wine.