“Do I even want to know what that is?” I huff, not happy that it feels like I'm the only one worrying about this.
“You must suck on the sweet juices of a Sabor, Rosie. Each bite should be savoured.” His eyes roam over me as he stands to the side, letting me walk ahead of him. Reaching out my hand, Steve quickly moves to my side, and we all walk down into the city streets together.
There is a naturalness to how we move. Bellatorwalks slightly behind and to the right of me, while Steve stands to my left holding my hand. We pass a few impish, each of them staring longer than considered appropriate. It is only when we make it to the same busy marketplace we stood in only hours earlier that the change is noticeable.
People are everywhere. The general feel is one of excitement as they all talk about the flyers blowing around the streets. Almost everyone I see is holding a copy, the same one that highlights Bellator's broken tusk. The Emperor is trying to prove something with this tournament. I just need to find out what.
It doesn't take long for the crowd to notice us. Hushed conversations behind covered mouths. I see a few looks of pity toward me and several looks of lust toward both of my orcs. I stretch my hand out, taking hold of Bellator’s hand as he steps to my side, catching the eye of an imp curling her lip at us. Tilting my head down, I glare at her, not wavering in my gaze. She looks away, wiping an imaginary wrinkle from her smock. My strained smile easing into a genuine grin. I will not be intimidated by this.
“Who can tell us where we can find the best Sabor ribs in Imperia?” Bellator bellows, gaining the attention of the crowd.
A silence settles among the impish, full of downturned mouths and grimaces, but no one says anything. “Forgive me, so much has changed since I was last home.” An older imp passing us muttering, “There are no Sabors left.”None left? They ate them to extinction?One by one, the impish leave and the once bustling space falls empty except for a few stragglers.
A small imp,a child, enters the marketplace from the other end, and I watch as he moves and lifts the flyers, possibly trying to find something he dropped earlier. He's so focused on what he’s doing, he doesn’t seem to notice he’s walked right up to Bellator, lifting and weaving in between his legs and cloak, moving flyers as he inspects the ground.
“Hello there, can I help you look for something?” I crouch down to his eye level. He looks dirty, and his clothes are muddied and worn.Where are his parents?Quickly scanning the area, I see no one frantically looking for their child, an uneasy pit forming in my stomach. His eyes are wide as he takes notice, looking me up and down, slack-jawed. “Are you okay, little man?” I ask again.
“I am no man, mistress. I am imp.” His voice wobbles slightly as he talks, hands nervously fidgeting in front of him.
“I see that, wee one. It's an expression where I'm from. I think you’re going to grow up to be a mighty warrior.” Talking softly as I smile at him.
Bellator steps back, no longer shading the two of us. The child looks up at the movement, and up, and up, eyes widening as realisation sets in.
“It's the Gladiator, Mistress… stay… stay behind me.” A deep ache forms in my chest as this small imp tries to shield me from Bellator. I hope he was not in the colosseum the other day for his fight; no one his age should have to witness such brutality. Steadying his footing, he lifts his fist, ready to fight.
“You honour me, young one. A gallant warrior you will grow up to be if you choose it.” The rumble of Bellator's voice has the child snapping his eyes closed, fists still high and ready to attack.
“Can you give us a moment, please?” I plead, I do not want to frighten him any more. Reaching out, I gently touch his shoulder. “It's okay, he's moved away. You can open your eyes now.” His movements are jerky as his eyes fly open, making sure Bellator is standing away from us. Steve has moved beside him, watching over us. “Are you alright? He can be a little scary, I'm sure.”
“You told the Gladiator to go away, and he did not eat your head,” he says, shocked.
“I assure you my head is firmly in place.” I laugh. “Now you were looking for something. Can I help you find it?”
“I was hoping to find some supper.” He says it so nonchalantly, it takes a second for me to understand what he said. “Someone might have dropped something.”
“And your parents?”
“My Da, died in the uprising. My Ma, is sleeping. I've been unable to wake her.” His voice trails off as my eyes mist over.
“What's your name, wee one?”
“My, Ma, called me Terico.”
“That is definitely the name of a warrior. We are actually trying to find some supper ourselves. I would love for you to join us.” I can practically hear his stomach rumble from where I'm crouched. A pain no child should ever have to experience. “Do you know where we can find Sabor Ribs? The big guys are trying to find them.”
“All the Sabors died in the uprising, punishment for the trouble we caused the Emperor.”
Discreetly, I wave Bellator and Steve closer to where Terico and I are huddled, hoping they get close enough to hear.
“That's no good, they all died, I would have liked to have seen one. Hey Terico?”
“Yes, mistress,”
“Can you tell me about the uprising?”
“My Ma said we made the Emperor angry, I don't know why, but he took things away. Everything was fine, and then one day it wasn’t. You can only get water from the fountains around the city. The ground started to die, and we all became hungry. Ma said I was lucky I had her milk. Da went to find food, but he couldn't find any. He didn't come home. Ma thinks I don't know, but I heard her talking one night that Da died. It's alright though because I can find food now. I find food for Ma even if she doesn't eatit. When she wakes up, she will want it, so I'm making sure she has a big pile.”
Silent tears run down my cheeks as I listen to him talk of their suffering. All of these impish are just pawns in the Emperor's game of total submission. He controls the water, deals punishments and commands how the city lives. No one is free in a city that is being dictated to. A fire rises in me, sick of dealing with petty egos that have too much say on things that are so important. Quickly wiping my cheeks, I stand, nodding at my two orcs and extending my hand for Terico to take.
