“What exactly happened to your wife?”
An unusually long silence fills the space between them. Sigvid suspects he crossed a line when Champ clears his throat.
“It was my fault. Night after night, I picked the bottle over being home with her. When she was pregnant, I panicked. We could barely make ends meet. Truthfully, I couldn’t confront myself. It was an autumn evening, the night it happened. I was in Scarwood drinking to the bottom of a barrel while she was home alone. A group of lords visited the house because I owed them coin. They thought,” Champ chokes on his words. “Sorry. I’ve not had to revisit that night in a long time.”
“It is okay, Champ. Forget I asked.”
“I need to talk about that night. I need to move on.” Champ answers throatily. “They took turns violating her body. All to send me a message and motivate me. By the time I arrived home, it was too late. They broke her soul, and it never returned. Within a week, she hungherself off the weeping willow behind our home. She and my child were gone.”
Sigvid is speechless, something that doesn’t happen often. “Fuck, man. I am sorry, Champion. What did you do?”
“I hunted them down like animals.” He says through gritted teeth. “I slaughtered them in gruesome ways–all but their cowardly leader. When the Timber guards finally sought fit to arrest me, I overexposed the lead lords' dealings, and they knew a formal trial would further shine a light on the corruption in the nobility of Timber. Instead, they sold me to the Arena, where I’ve been ever since.”
“I would have done the same in your place. Those men got what they deserved.” Sigvid strokes his beard. “I want to know what lord is trying desperately to cover this up. Timber is not exactly known for their kindness to women.”
Champ scoffs. “It is no secret. He is a duke now that his father died. Duke Samson Manchineel.”
Rendel’s fuckhead cousin? Why has no one annihilated the Manchineel line? They are not even the true heirs to the throne.
Sigvid vows that if he ever escapes this shit hole, he will help avenge Champ and his wife. “Of course, the more corrupt you are, the higher you rise.”
“My only regret in life is that I will die, trapped in here, and Samson continues to live on without justice.”
“I will get you out. You will have your vengeance.”
Champion’s deep laugh rumbles through their cells. “I respect your angry determination. If I’m honest, I seek not retribution for Samson but redemption for me. My selfish actions endangered the person who mattered most to me, and they took advantage of that.”
Sigvid has never loved anyone enough to feel Champ's selflessness toward his late wife. “What does it feel like to love someone so deeply you would sacrifice anything for them?”
“You’re asking the wrong question.”
When Champion does not elaborate, Sigvid’s frustration gets the better of him. “Fine, what question should I ask?”
“Why do you carry such hate for everyone?”
Sigvid scoffs. “That is absurd.”
“Is it?”
It’s Sigvid’s turn to remain silent. After his father tasked him with his life’s purpose at thirteen, he spent his free time reading and analyzing his mind or training his body. The nameless women of his life were brief jaunts.
Only one woman has ever captivated his mind enough to drive him insane. And she would never be more than a secret.
“I hope I am not too brazen, but there is a thin line between love and hate.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Sigvid spits with an intensity he did not realize feels.
Sigvid settles onto his cot, munching on his cold potatoes, considering Champ's words. He can never conceive of holding anything other than hostility toward the Timber Queen.
Footsteps echo in their private hallway. Sigvid rises, wondering what someone would be doing at the combatant level at this time of night.
“Beast.” A guard appears outside his cell, and he can hear the clinking of a key in the lock of his cell door. “This is a gift from your sponsor. I will slide the box to you, and you may open it inside your cell. You may never hold the items inside when approached. You must always slide the items to the wall. Do you understand?”
What in the Abyss?“Sure.”
The guard slides a heavy box across the floor of his cell. Quickly, he scampers out, slamming the door and locking it up before disappearing.
“What is it?” Champ asks curiously.
