Relegated to Palanquin Bearer

A breeze swept through the field, making their rags swish. Some held down the rags to protect their dignity. Heat from the earth seeped into their soles, making them darker with each passing minute. Some shifted to ease the pain coming from the soles. The clank of overlapping metal plates of a scale male armor caught their attention. They turned their heads towards the sound and saw Alphard walking towards them. The other captives were missing, causing them to assume the worst. He stopped before Ophelia and saluted.

"Your Majesty, permission to speak." Ophelia turned her head towards him as she ignored Lars, who still clutched his gut.

"Permission granted."

"It seems that we are one person short." Alphard's cold obsidian eyes scanned the remaining captives, looking for a replacement.

"What happened this time?" Ophelia released a sigh. 

"Unfortunately, captive number two succumbed to some injuries and perished." His gaze sent shivers along the spines of the captives.

They knew better to keep what happened in the jail under wraps. Some pinched their wrists to prevent them from grimacing, vividly remembering Braus' cries. They did their best to forget Braus' horrified expression.

"That's truly unfortunate." Ophelia continued to examine her nails.

If someone paid attention, her eyes softened before they settled back to impasiveness. Meanwhile, Lars clutched his fist as he heard how they talked about death as if it were a trivial matter.

"You are less than dirt." The captives' expressions paled once they heard the words that flowed out of Lars' mouth.

Ophelia turned towards Lars as she gazed down on him. "I am sorry. I must have missed what you said."

"I said you guys are less than dirt–"

Before Lars could process what happened, he felt a sharp pain assault his jaw. Ophelia raised her foot to kick him again with her high heel at the same point. The pain doubled. Lars clutched his chin as he fell backwards.

As Lars tried to lift his head, a rough sole ground into his forehead. He realised that Ophelia had pinned him to the ground. Lars felt a sharp pain assault the side of his head as Ophelia was busy trying to dig her heels into it.

"Ha… I never knew that you were dumb enough to repeat it." Ophelia continued dragging her heels onto his head.

"Your majesty, shall I deal with him?" Ophelia raised her hand to halt Alphard and the other guards from taking action.

Lars groaned as the heels threatened to dig into his head. He squirmed as he tried to free himself from her foot. Each attempt caused the pressure she exerted to increase.

"I…mean…it… You are… less than dirt." Lars struggled to let the words leave his mouth, causing them to sound more like a growl.

"I see your idiocy knows no bounds." Ophelia lifted her foot off him.

Lars thought that she had backed off from the confrontation. Instead, with a wave of her right hand she summoned the two guards who dragged the cart. They understood the wordless order she wanted done once they saw her left hand was clenched into a fist. Suddenly, Lars noticed his vision had shifted from the ground. He was now face-to-face with Ophelia. A throbbing vein on her temple, coupled with her eyes which had narrowed into thin slits, sealed the deal.

As Lars tried to regain his bearings, a punch struck his gut. This caused him to hunch over in pain as he flung traces of his saliva into the air. He tried to clutch his gut to soothe the pain, but he felt his hands were locked in place. This prevented him from doing anything. Another punch struck his gut at the same point, increasing his pain tenfold. He attempted to throw up due to the solid hit to his gut, but only saliva came out of his mouth.

Ophelia paused her attacks, giving Lars some breathing space. He heaved as his breathing hastened, as he felt heat pool up at his stomach. Lars shot Ophelia a glare despite having to look up at her. Ophelia's eyebrows twitched as her hands trembled. In slow motion, red strips of aura flowed from her hand, the area around her darkening. 

"If you want to die that badly, let me help you."

The other captives closed their eyes as they didn't want to hear the sound of droplets of blood hit the ground. Before her hand could touch him, she withdrew her aura upon deciding this wasn't worth her time. The glow receded into Ophelia's hands as the area returned to its original state. She walked away from him, trying to put as much distance between the two of them.

"You are a coward. You cannot go through with your own words."

Suddenly, Ophelia disappeared from his vision and reappeared before him. She grabbed his face as her long fingernails dug into his cheek, leaving red marks on his cheek. She increased the pressure of her hold on his cheek. Some of the flesh from his cheeks swelled up between her fingers.

"Just because I didn't proceed to take your life doesn't mean I can't." Ophelia's eyes met his as she increased the pressure of her grip.

Lars' cheek had gained a purplish tint. Ophelia furrowed her eyebrows as she racked her brain with ways to deal with the nuisance before her.

"Count yourself lucky this time." Ophelia let go of his cheeks as red streaks melded with purple bruises.

"Alphard, you said that you are one man short, right?" Alphard became attentive as Ophelia addressed him.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Ophelia pointed her index finger at Lars, causing Alphard to get the drift. "How about you take this fool away from my sight and put him to use."

"As you wish, Your Highness." Alphard bowed his head before gesturing for the two guards to escort Lars as they followed him.

Lars narrowed his eyes at her. This didn't go unnoticed by Alphard as his fingers twitched. Alphard's gauntlet-clad hand slapped his cheek, adding damage to what Ophelia did earlier. Lars spat out the blood; it hit the ground with a soft 'plop'.

"Filthy scum, how dare you gaze at Your Highness like that?" Lars returned his head to its original position and proceeded to glare at him.

"I don't have time to entertain you. Lewlin, Claude, drag him away from here." The guards locked his hands in place as they proceeded to drag him.

Lars' feet kicked up dust as they were dragged along the ground. The ground scraped against his toes, which made him wince in pain. The ground's roughness, coupled with the heat of the ground, made the skin protecting his toes give out. Red streaks trailed along the ground. Lars winced in pain as tiny stones continued to dig into his foot. The cold breeze ruffled his hair as it caressed his cheek, slightly soothing the pain. Lars kept his eyes transfixed on the ground to relieve his neck from stress.

Lars noticed that the ground had started to darken with a bright spot here and there. A dry, warm scent with a hint of sweetness assaulted his nose. The leaves swished as a breeze swept by, emitting crackling sounds. The ground became cooler, but this didn't stop it as it continued to dig into his feet. He raised his eyes as woody stems came into the corner of his eyes.

Meanwhile, in another clearing, Xero and Peon were seated as they relaxed their bodies from the heat. The captive who bore the number one rank was Finnas Ul Nasc, a human. Finnas hummed a tune to console himself as he ruffled his pitch black hair. His eyes were closed as he let the breeze wash over him. His voice enticed birds to try and sing along, forming a symphony. Once he finished humming the tune, he opened his eyelids, revealing his purple eyes to the world. He licked his dry lips as he tried to moisten them up.

Finnas walked up to Xero before plopping himself on the ground next to him. "You know, you have a beautiful voice."

"Thank…you." His index finger scratched his cheek as he switched his gaze to the ground.

"You're welcome, but I am sure you get told that often." Finnas' eyes started to become cold as his body shook.

His hands trailed up his arms as if he were warding off the cold. "I wish that were the case."

Xero shut his mouth as he knew better not to pry into his life. They sat in silence before Finnas raised his hands as if to block out voices.

"What a worthless son you are!" 

'Shut…up.' Finnas' head swayed from side as he tried to block out the voices.

"You are delusional if you thought I would ever love a man like you!"

"Shut up." A whisper left his mouth notifying Xero that something was happening. 

"Brother, just give up, you can't win against me." Shadows surrounded him, mocking him with each word that they spew from their mouths.

"SHUT UP!" He shook as he heaved laboured breaths while clutching his chest.

His shout caught the attention of the other captives who were in the clearing. Xero placed his large, scaly hand on his back, snapping him back to reality. He darted his eyes everywhere, and once he saw, he was in the tiny clearing away from his tormentors. He heaved out a sigh of relief. He felt a weight on his back, causing him to turn towards its source.

He saw Xero's green reptilian eyes soften in concern. "Are you okay?"

"I will be fine… Just some bad memories." Finnas forced out a smile, though it didn't reach his eyes.

Xero didn't pry further. Before they could let his outburst seep into their mind, they heard a groan. They saw at a distance two guards dragging Lars by his arms.

Xero shook his head as he released an exasperated sigh. 'Why am I not surprised that he got picked?'