Slave Trade - Climax
Slave Trade Climax
copyright 2013 comidacomida
Ulric was obviously taken aback when Sidney stood up to challenge him. The lion's ears rose, as did his eyebrows, but he recovered quickly as a sadistic smile spread across his muzzle, "Oh... so someone's grown a pair." the words came out in a chuckling tone, "Guess the time as a Slave Master made you think you're a real man, did it?" Ulric drew his whip back in a smooth motion and then, with a circular flick of his arm, the end of it surged forward faster than Sidney's eye could track.
The fox's first instinct was to flinch, and wait for the agonizing sting of the leather across his flesh, but reflex won out over instinct, and with a lightning-quick shuffle of his feet, Sidney heard the loud crack of the tip of Ulric's whip cleave the air where his shoulder had been mere moments before. He grit his teeth, ear ringing from the proximity of the sound, but he otherwise stood his ground, "Lord Hector is your Master. You can't do--"
"Don't tell me what I can't do, fox." the lion, smile suddenly gone, growled, "I'm done playing with you... now out of my way."
Ulric stepped forward, but Sidney didn't budge, "No."
The big slave master's scowl deepened, "I'm not a patient lion."
"Then leave." Sidney countered, "You can't hurt Lord Hector..." he swallowed in an attempt to keep his voice steady, "I won't allow it."
Ulric laughed at that, though the sound was more out of scorn than humor, "YOU won't ALLOW it?" he questioned, taking another step closer as he gave his whip a light flick, creating a crack off to the side, and drawing a deep gash in a section of the wooden wall, "I'm letting you live because I owe you..." he sneered, growling as he bit off each word, "Don't. Push it. Fox." and he started forward again.
"Sidney," Lord Hector spoke up from behind the fox. Unwilling to let his gaze leave Ulric, the smaller Slave Master rotated his ears toward the stag, but was otherwise maintained eye contact. "Go, Sidney." his former master bade him.
"I'm not leaving without Lord Hector." Sidney stated right to Ulric's face as much as for the stag's benefit as the lion's.
"Then I guess you ain't leaving." the lion announced, and, being too close for an effective whip strike, lunged forward with his left paw balled up into a fist. Sidney was completely unready for the strike. Having absolutely no time to consider how best to avoid being struck, the fox's body once again acted on its own, repeating by rote the kuusik he had seen the gladiators drill time and time again under Maern's tutelage.
The shock of his fist impacting Ulric's wrist raced all the way up Sidney's arm, and he felt his fingers tingle in pain; he was not made for fighting and his body knew it. The lion, at first surprised that his blow didn't connect, took a moment in numbed amazement, and Sidney was almost able to read the disbelief that crossed Ulric's muzzle... but that was replaced relatively quickly with an even greater visage of fury, "You... you....you--" and that's when words left the lion and the only sound that came out of his snarling muzzle was a roar.
Dropping his whip, Ulric lunged at Sidney, paws outstretched, claws extended. The fox fell back, no longer standing where the lion had pounced, and he quickly stepped to the side, evading the big slave's double-claw. Ulric picked up an empty flask from where it sat on the work table and Sidney dodged once more when it came flying at him. The lion wasn't done, however, and followed the projectile in at him, and Sidney just wasn't fast enough to protect himself from the follow-up kick to his head.
Ulric's foot connected with the side of his skull just below his ear, and the fox was flung to the side, bounced off of the work shed wall, and landed face down on the wooden floor. The entire room was spinning and his ears were freshly ringing. He felt a strong grip grab him by the scruff and haul in to his feet. Clenching his teeth, Sidney pushed his paws out in an attempt to resist the grapple. He hoped that whatever powers the leather paw straps held would sense his desperation and activate.
"What was THAT?" the lion demanded, his voice somewhere between enraged and hilarity, "Was that supposed to be a punch?" he laughed scornfully, giving the fox a shake. He wasn't laughing for long, however when, a moment later, Sidney's foot connected with his crotch.
Dropped to the ground, the fox fought against the dizziness to maintain his balance. He managed to stumble several steps the wrong direction before he regained enough control over his body to shift his center of balance, and take several shaky steps toward where Lord Hector was kneeling. Ulric, though still on his knees, had recovered just enough to reach out and grab Sidney's leg, causing him to fall.
"ALMOST..." Ulric growled, manhandling the fox, gripping his leg tightly and pulling him across the ground, closer to where he was crouched in pain, "You ALMOST made me change my mind about letting you live..." he backhanded Sidney, who saw stars as pain lanced through his head, "Keep it up, and I still might."
Somehow managing to cling into consciousness, Sidney struggled. Flailing helplessly, the fox once again tried to repeat the events that activated the leather paw coverings. The flailing stopped when a powerful paw palmed his head and drove it into the wall. Ulric hurled him across the room in the opposite direction from Lord Hector and it was all Sidney could do to protect his head from impacting into the floor. He slid for a few feet, his back coming to rest against the wall. "You..." Sidney murmured, the movement of trying to speak causing agony in his jaw, "you can't..."
"I guess you DO want to die." Ulric scowled, stalking toward him.
The fox rolled over onto his stomach, resting his paws against the wooden floor, feeling the grain against the pads of his paw-- only then did he realize that he was no longer wearing the leather wraps he had so fervently hoped would aid him. For a moment, Sidney felt the urge to lay down and surrender but, as he looked up, all he could focus on was the pained expression on Lord Hector's face. Pushing with all his might, the fox somehow managed to rise up... and received another kick to the head for his trouble. This time, however, unconsciousness finally won out, but, as he sank beneath the deep blackness, it brought him no comfort-- he knew he had failed.
* * * * * *
The sounds of contemptuous laughter brought Sidney back to consciousness. Based on the pain still fresh in his body, the fox had a feeling that he had not been out long. If the malicious cackling hadn't been enough to rouse him, a sudden crash of cold water striking him in the face was certainly more than sufficient. The fox gasped, sputtering as his senses began to regain focus. Sidney coughed, looking around as he was given a chance to take in the situation... then immediately wished he hadn't.
"Hmph." Wragol glared down at him, the large bull scowling the moment the fox moved his head, "You take a title better than you take a punch." and he moved his leg, letting his foot come to rest atop Sidney's fingers... and he added some weight to it. Sidney cried out, pulling at his paw, but Wragol just continued laughing, "Being Hector's favorite won't help you now."
"LORD Hector." Sidney growled, somehow unwilling to let the slight go, despite the pain. The bull's frown deepend, and the fox cried out all the more as Wragol's foot ground down against his paw.
Sidney bit back his whimpering when a rough paw reached and grabbed hold of his muzzle, pulling his attention to his other side, where Vannik, Ulric's second stood. The llama spat in his face, "Hector's not the lord of anything no more... we're free, and he's gonna be OUR slave."
"Yea..." Wragol announced in confirmation, "We're making Ulric lord of the estate and we're all free men." The bull's heel rose up off of Sidney's paw and the fox immediately drew it back to his body, gripping it against his chest as he experimentally flexed and clenched his fingers; nothing was broken, but the pain was still present.
"You can't..." Sidney spoke quietly, finding that his willingness to fight was quickly draining from him; he wouldn't be able to win. The fox was willing to die for Lord Hector, but it was readily apparent that resisting Ulric and his henchmen wouldn't help the stag in any foreseeable way. He lowered his head, "...you can't."
"So says the little fox." Ulric's voice called from across the work shed. Sidney's eyes raised up to where the lion stood, and, for a moment, his brain simply stopped working as he stared in horror at what he saw.
Lord Hector was bent over the work table on his stomach, arms behind his back, tied together at the wrists by the sleeves of his fine silk sleeve, which appeared to have been ripped and torn after having been taken off of him. The stag was completely naked, his legs spread apart and tied to the table legs by his ankles; Sidney realized that the bonds holding him fast were the two halves of his leggings, apparently torn in half and used as bindings. A trickle of blood was still visible on Lord Hector's split lip.
"Lord Hector!" Sidney gasped, moving to stand, but a powerful paw on either of his shoulders forced him back to his knees as the two large men attending him pushed him down, returning him to a kneeling position.
"Let him go, Ulric..." the stag spoke quietly, but purposefully, "You do not need him... let him go."
"You can't tell me what to do anymore." the lion answered back, slapping the Lord's exposed rump with the palm of his paw, "And, starting today, you'll call me Master." Ulric's grin widened as he tore off his loin cloth with lust-inflamed ferocity, "Oh, I've been waiting for THIS for years..."
"No!" Sidney tried to stand again but, once more, he was forced back to his knees, "You can't! You can't!"
"Shut him up." Ulric growled, fondling his already firm shaft as he rubbed his own precum along its length, "If he talks again..." the lion licked his muzzle eagerly, "find another use for that pretty little mouth."
"When you're done with him, I want a go." Wragol grinned, "Been waiting to take Hector off his high horse ever since this one." he gave the fox a kick to the ribs, knocking him over. The bull sneered down at him, "...and I'll make ya watch too." "You'll get your chance." Ulric chuckled, and Sidney, from his place on the ground, watched in horror as Lord Hector grit his teeth and shut his eyes in a grimace, far too controlled to cry out as the lion invaded his tail hole.
"It's not--- ngh--- too late..." the stag spoke, his words interrupted by a half experimental thrust from Ulric, "... don't do-- ngh-- this, Ulric..."
"It's Master!" the lion growled, his words accompanied by a strand of saliva dribbling off of his eager lips. Ulric licked the fluid from his muzzle, and swatted the back of the stag's head, "Remember it, because you'll have to scream it to get me to stop buggering you." and the lion laughed scornfully, moving one of his paws to the lord's exposed rump to grip a half-pawful of the stag's short fur... and began thrusting in earnest, "Ohhh yea... this is a first for YOU, isn't it?" the words were accompanied by a powerful purr from deep within Ulric's chest; the situation left Sidney feeling sick.
Sidney stared in horror, as much aghast that the scene was making him hard as he was that it was happening at all. Sidney hated himself for his reaction, but he despised Ulric more, "Stop it!" he shouted, trying to get to his feet again but this time, in addition to being forced back to the ground, he received a strong smack upside his head.
The fox, still wet and cold from the water thrown on him to awaken him, shivered as much from the pain as from being drenched, but he didn't relent, and, instead, went to stand again. This time, only Wragol bothered stopping him, forcing him down to the ground and then holding him up by the throat with one hand, "You heard Lord Ulric... I'm gonna find another use for that muzzle of yours."
Sidney fought to free his neck from Wragol's grasp, but to no avail. In the end, the bull held his weight in one hand even as he undid his own loincloth with the other; the fox did not miss the fact that Wragol's animalistic flesh was already peeking out of his sheath, "Never had a sex slave before..." the bull chuckled, "If you're really good at it I might just make you my own personal little toy."
If nothing else, Wragol's groin in front of his face was a relief for Sidney; being made to pleasure the bull was less torturous than being forced to watch Lord Hector's rape. Fondly wishing that he could summon the courage up to bite Wragol, the fox realized that the bull would end up half the man, but Sidney would end up fully dead. In the end, the fox knew that he did not have an option other than to obey-- he had been a slave and, despite having being freed for all of a few minutes, he was to remain one.
"OOoooOOoohhh..." Wragol chuckled, his voice creating little vibrations through the flesh in Sidney's mouth, "he IS good..." and the bull grabbed hold of the fox's ears, holding his head in place as he ground hips up against Sidney's nose. Wragol's long, pointed shaft struck the back of the fox's throat once, twice, then a third time, but Sidney was far too skilled to gag, angling his head just enough in the hopes that the contact with his muzzle would finish off the bull that much faster.
He maintained his focus on his craft, ignoring the bull's dirty talk and jibes with almost as much will as the sound of Ulric's constant groaning and Lord Hector's muffled grunts. "Hey!" Vannik's exclamation caused Sidney to realize that the llama had moved up behind him, "If you two are gonna have fun then I'm not about ta leave with a dry cock either..." and he felt one of Vannik's hands grip his hip, the other taking hold of his tail and pulling it roughly to the side.
"Heh--" Wragol chuckled, "You just made him tense up." the bull laughed, condescendingly stroking the back of Sidney's head as he pulled it forward to meet one of his thrusts, "Got his tongue all pressed up under--" but his words caught in his throat as Sidney silenced him with a rolling flick against the underside of his abuser's member. The bull's breath turned into a choking squeak, and he shuddered.
The maneuver was called 'the Laranian Locution', and was one that he had been forced to master during his training as a pleasure slave. It was one he had used only on the rare occasion when Lord Bulhue was particularly sadistic, as it could draw such a response from the recipient that they could do nothing other than lose themselves in a near-immediate, powerful orgasm. It worked again... and worked well.
Swallowing down the more-than-ample seed from the aggressive bull, Sidney was relieved when Wragol simply fell to his knees and laid down right in front of the captive, "Oh... I am gonna keep this little fox toy... fuck yes." Despite Sidney's reprieve from the bull's unwashed shaft in his muzzle, it meant that he was given full view again of the lion astride Lord Hector, and, as Ulric's thrusting built toward a crescendo, it was so horrible that Sidney couldn't take his eyes off of it.
"Ung... oh... I've wanted this for so long..." Ulric growled into Lord Hector's ear, pulling the stag up to a standing position, forcing the stag to stand as he was raped from behind. Sidney choked on the remnants of Wragol's semen as he tried to draw breath, stunned beyond belief as the lion wrapped a paw around Lord Hector's half-erect shaft. The movement of Ulric's velvety paw up and down the fore-skinned member was, at once, a hypnotic dance and an invasion of what Sidney considered to be 'holy ground'. The fox knew it had been years since anyone had touched Lord Hector that way and, despite the situation, it had an effect.
He was given a moment's reprieve from attending it with his eyes as Vannik groaned behind him, and the llama's pistoning shaft began to jump and pulse within him; Sidney grit his teeth as he felt his assailant's seed pour into him. The fox held his position as Vannik gripped him tightly, buried to the hilt as he emptied himself into Sidney's tail hole, slowly withdrawing only once his flesh had stopped twitching.
"Hard to believe you've been used as much as you have..." the llama laughed, falling back against the wall with a sigh, "You're still nice and tight." and, with that, he gave Sidney a kick to the rump with a hoof, sending him sprawling forward. It was all the fox could do to avoid landing on Wragol, twisting his body to the side to go into a half roll, coming up surprisingly close to the work table, just in time to hear Ulric roar out... and, mixed with it was a helpless, strangled rasp from Lord Hector.
Sidney watched as the lion gave another, thrust, causing the stag to go up to his tip toes. Ulric's fingers clamped down powerfully around Lord Hector's abused member, which began giving up jet after jet of streaming pearly fluid. Ulric lurched again, letting go of the stag's flesh, and pushing him down against the table as he started surging in and out of his former master's tail hole. The lion groaned, inhaling deeply through his clenched teeth, eyes closed as he reveled in the moment.
Ulric let out a series of incomprehensible oaths with a long, extended breath and Sidney watched as little droplets of lion seed hit the floor-- a pointed and completely unnecessary sign of what was taking place. Only once the fox's eyes were drawn magnetically to the droplets did Sidney he see two discarded black leather paw straps. Glancing back at the two euphoric thugs behind him, the fox looked again to the distracted lion... and lunged forward the table. He didn't quite make it; one of Ulric's feet connected with his forehead.
Though he was dazed, Sidney managed to keep his wits about him and rolled to the side. Ulric, naked, with his member still dripping, did not appear pleased at the interruption, "I've had just about all I--" but the fox did not bother giving him a chance to finish his sentence. Letting out a furious war cry, Sidney charged forward right at the lion with as much ferocity as he could muster. Somewhere in the back of his head, the fox compared the maneuver to the one Baron had used repeatedly in the arena and knew that any skilled warrior would be able to counter it-- Ulric was not a skilled warrior.
The lion took Sidney's bum rush head-on; the fox's shoulder collided with Ulric's abdomen, and he sprawled backward. The momentum of Sidney's charge carried them both across the room, and they didn't stop until Ulric's back collided with the upraised Sardassi. "Huuh!" the lion wheezed, his breath knocked out of him. The large slave master was already starting to struggle, and Sidney reacted without thinking. Lashing out, the fox delivered four quick slaps, but Ulric was not his target-- he had struck each of the four manacles, shutting them tightly.
Falling back, Sidney stared up at the captured lion and suddenly, he realized, the situation had changed dramatically; there was fear in Ulric's eyes. "STOP HIM!" the lion roared, "Stop him!" the words were almost a screech as he struggled, trying in vain to free himself. Wragol and Vannik got to their feet, looking around quickly, and then picked up pieces of broken furniture, brandishing them like clubs.
"Stop." Lord Hector declared, moving on weak legs to interpose himself between the two slaves and Sidney. The fox used the distraction to jump beneath the table. Quickly grabbing hold of his leather gloves, Sidney began to lash them onto his palms, and paused when he saw the 'x' scratched into the leather glow yellow; at the same time the royal seal on his chest responded with a bluish green light, and he felt suddenly... more.
"Get up, Sidney." Tharis announced, tossing the table off of him, "The Master needs us."
Sidney didn't pause to wonder where the bull had come from, or how he had appeared; accepting Tharis' hand up, the fox got to his feet in time to see Lord Hector backpedal toward him, dodging first left then right to avoid savage bashes from the two slaves. "Lord Hector!" Sidney cried, and, with Tharis right ahead of him, selflessly charged into Wragol and Vannik.
The old bull got to the two slaves first, delivering a powerful punch to Wragol's midsection. With a quick redirection of his momentum, Tharis dodged Vannik's clumsy swipe and, in a single fluid motion, grabbed the club from Wragol's surprised grip, and spun around, bringing the weapon upside the other slave's head; Vannik dropped straight to the ground, unconscious. Finishing the turn, Tharis brought the club down in an overhead chop, slamming the weapon onto Wragol's skull, which cracked audibly; the younger bull shuddered, spasming on the ground for several seconds before laying still.
"Sidney!" Lord Hector called, speaking his name for what may have been the fourth or fifth time. Blinking, the fox looked back to the stag, feeling dizzy for a moment as the world seemed to shift around him. "Gods, Sidney..." Lord Hector breathed, watching him with a mixture of pride and concern, "How did you do that?"
"I... don't know, Master." Sidney responded, "He just came out of nowhere..." and the fox looked back to where Tharis had been... but no longer was. Only then did Sidney realize that he was holding a bloody club in his own paw, and he stood over Wragol's body. He opened his paw and let the club fall to the ground. "I--" but a strangled, warbling howl cut him off, drawing his eyes immediately to Ulric.
The lion convulsed, body caught in the throes of an electric seizure as the Sardassi cascaded a deluge of power through him. Sidney stared in rapt horror as Ulric's limbs over-flexed, knees and elbows popping out of joint as his entire being attempted to free itself from the artifact. He cried out, but the scream of pain was drowned out by his rebelling body's deep moan. Tears streamed from the lion's eyes, wide with fear and agony yet, beyond belief, locking onto Sidney's gaze with the most intense, feral lust the fox had ever seen.
Hector put his arms around Sidney, pulling his gaze from Ulric, and he spoke quietly, voice still somehow audible within the horrific screams, cries, and moans of the lion, "Do not watch, Sidney... do not watch." The bawling howls of ecstasy-laced torment lasted for far longer than the fox cared to count, but he remained where he was until Ulric fell silent... and the lion finally did-- at that same time that the royal seal on Sidney's chest stopped its glow.
"It wasn't even on..." Lord Hector murmured, slowly disengaging from the fox as he turned to gaze at the Sardassi.
"No..." Sidney acknowledged, gazing as the stag did across at the desiccated, broken body of the lion. He remembered Tharis' words from their time in the work shed, and spoke them under his breath, "...but I was."
If Lord Hector heard it, he didn't respond. Instead, he perked his ears, training them on a distant sound coming from outside. Lord Hector turned away from the grisly scene and went to the exit, stopping only long enough to take his untouched bath robe from its peg by the door. The noise from outside grew louder, and Sidney could tell that they were the sounds of combat. His ears fell immediately and he looked again to Lord Hector.
"We should not delay, Sidney... we need to rescue who we can, and then get far away from here." the stag put his hand to the door knob, but paused when Vannik groaned from his place on the floor. Lord Hector glanced to the fox, "Thumb, or palm?" he asked quietly.
"Thumb." Tharis spoke from beside the unconscious llama, a club in his hand.
Sidney blinked and the bull disappeared. The fox paused, realizing that he himself had picked up the club he had dropped earlier. Dropping it again, Sidney spoke without hesitation, "Palm, Master... we should go." The sound of combat beyond the work shed grew louder, further indicating that the fox's decision wasn't unreasonable.
"I'm not your master any more, Sidney..." the stag noted, tying his robe about himself before picking up a blade that had been discarded by one of the slaves, "I said you are free, and I meant it."
The two ran out into the moonlit courtyard but stopped only a few strides from the work shed; battle was fully engaged, and what Sidney saw struck him dumb. A large number of slaves that the fox had known during his time at Lord Hector's estate were wielding everything from kitchen knives to farming implements. The vast majority of the attackers, Sidney realized, were from Ulric's stables, but there were various others fighting just as savagely... but what really caught the fox's attention was the opposing force.
Maern and Dorias created the front of a wedge,cutting through the uprising slaves that occupied Lord Hector's estate. While a few of their blows caused obvious fatal wounds, Sidney saw that neither fought with intent to kill. Beside them, and off to one side was the ocelot that Lord Talvin had managed to plant in Lord Levid's employ; the cat was moving at lightning speed, using two curved short swords to disarm and disable his foes.
"Hector!" called a voice Sidney had never thought to hear again, "So good of you to join us!" With all the flair and panache of an acrobat, a pure white wolf descended from the work shed's roof top, completing a forward somersault before landing nimbly on his feet. With a smile, the wolf turned to regard them, "Gods, my friends, you look like shit."
"Thank you... I feel much like it as well." the stag accepted a rapier from the wolf and handed his sword to Sidney, who took the weapon hesitantly, "Now... as you seem to have become quite the schemer, how do you intend to handle this situation?"
A series of shouts rose up from the side, and Sidney turned in time with the two Lords to see a wall of charging field slaves. Three in total, each was easily the size of the stag and wolf put together. Well before reaching their intended target, however, they were intercepted. "I brought Ian." the wolf replied. In the time it took the lord to say those three words, the lizard had torn the throat out of one, gouged out the second's eyes then tripped the blinded slave with a sweep of his tail, and scared the third off with a hiss that sounded like something Sidney would have expected to have come from demon.
"Hmm..." Lord Hector nodded with a faint frown, "You do appear to have things planned out quite well, Talvin."
The white wolf's tail flowed languidly from side to side at the praise, then stopped, "Talvin died, Hector." he turned to face the stag, "I am once again Bane."
"Bane?" Sidney asked, ears up as he regarded the wolf.
"Yes, Sidney... Bane." the wolf winked, "Lord Talvin was a slave owner and a man of some great influence... but he was killed by the king."
"And then Bane killed the king." Lord Hector added.
Bane bowed his head with a smile, "Thus becoming a great hero to the people."
"I... thought you were calling me Bane." Sidney spoke up quietly.
"And so I was." the wolf turned to face him, reaching forward to take one of Sidney's arms by the wrist. "You played your part wonderfully." and he kissed the back of the fox's paw.
"I don't understand." Sidney admitted, "...I thought you died."
"Lord Talvin died." the wolf noted.
"But the arrows..." Sidney pressed.
Bane laughed, "You obviously overlook my resourcefulness..." and he shot a sidelong glance at Lord Hector, "That's alright, Sidney... many do." and he pulled out a small bag and handing it to Sidney, "Pigments... I used them to masquerade as a timber wolf... and to get out of the castle after... well... you know."
Sidney picked through the several jars then paused, "Why do you need orange?"
Lord Hector turned to regard Bane with a raised eyebrow, "You turned yourself into a fox..."
"Hardly a great disguise up close, I will admit." Bane nodded, "Though, from a distance, any number of guards would be able to see a fox diving into the moat."
"But... water would make the pigments wash off..." Sidney returned the pouch to the wolf, then finished his own thought, "...which means they see a fox dive into the moat, and see a white wolf come out of the moat."
"And so the legend is born." Bane smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Oh... and I believe I found something of yours." the wolf motioned to the side, where the ocelot had met up with Dorias and Maern; Balkum the honey badger was fighting beside them against the slaves.
"Where's Choel?" Sidney asked, looking at the combatants.
"Right here, Slave Master." a voice behind the fox caused him to jump, and he turned to regard the tiger who, with a sheepish grin stated, "Dorias said Maern said he'd pull off my tail if I got involved... I think he's just a big softy for injured tigers."
"Good man." Lord Hector nodded, resting a hand on the gladiator's shoulder, then turned to regard Bane, "We need to fall back."
"Fall back?" questioned the wolf, "But we are retaking your manor, my friend... it's the least I can do for you after you played your part so well in my plans."
"You mean staying blind to your intent." Lord Hector crossed his arms with a hint of scorn in his voice.
"I prefer to think of it in a more positive light..." Bane turned to motion to the ocelot, who fell back from the battle front and moved toward the group, "but... yes." the wolf smiled, "If you wish to spare the lives of these men and women, however, I can appreciate your--"
"Archers!" Choel shouted, pointing to the second-story windows of the manor. Sidney looked up in time to see the silhouettes of several slaves with short bows prominent against the candle light from within. Beside him, Bane flicked his arm and three small blades streaked across the distance, catching one of the archers twice, and a second once. Lord Hector dove to one side, taking cover behind one of the large stones of the practice ring and Choel threw himself in front of Sidney.
The fox heard the fleshy thud a moment before the tiger collapsed against him. "I'm..." Choel rasped, "al... right." and he slid out of Sidney's loose grasp, falling to the ground with an arrow in his back.
"CHARGE!" Finneas' voice screamed from the manor's side door, and a wave of slaves armed with cleavers, knives, hooks, and clubs poured out into the courtyard.
"No!" Sidney shouted, staring down at Choel, then looked up at the wall of slaves racing toward him, "No!" he shouted again, and he was set upon by the attackers, the royal seal on his chest blazing with light.
Numerous slaves came at him, hacking, slashing, and bashing with their weapons, but not a blow managed to land. Tharis, sword in hand, deflected every last attack, knocking the strikes away and countering with his fist. Swept up in the tide of battle, Sidney was overwhelmed by the sounds and motions yet, no matter where Tharis moved or how he attacked, he somehow always managed to keep himself within arm's reach of the fox, who numbly followed after the bull through the battlefield.
Although only a few moments passed, to Sidney it felt as though he were in the daze brought on by combat for hours. Over the span of barely a minute, Tharis had fought his way through the mob of slaves, which crashed against him like a wave against a rock. They spread out, going this-way-and-that as the old bull continued to cleave through them, maintaining an impossibly quick forward momentum despite continuing to keep Sidney safe from all the blows that attempted to land... and there were a LOT of blows.
"Kill 'im!" Finneas screamed, "Yeh all be worthless flesh, kill 'im! Kill 'im!" the mouse backpedaled, pointing toward Tharis and Sidney as the two approached. Five slaves separated them... then four... then three, then two; Tharis finished them both off with a single backhand, knocking the first into the second, sending them sprawling.
"You chose the wrong side." Tharis growled, and turned the blade in his enormous hand for a killing strike, and he swung.
"Stop!" Sidney yelled, and the sword stopped a hair's breath from Finneas' neck. Gasping for breath, the fox's combat confusion came to an end, and he realized that he was holding the blade, and his left paw was sore beyond all belief. There was a small ring of slaves around him, all inching away in fear as the gazed at Sidney. He looked to his left, and then to his right, and then to Finneas, who was staring at him, eyes wide.
"Lash me..." the mouse gaped, "when... 'ow...?" he wheezed, "Where'd yeh.... yeh know 'ow t'fight...?"
"I didn't." Sidney dropped the blade, "The fighting's over." he announced, "Tell everyone to give up... it's over."
Finneas fell to his knees, covering his face with one paw, "We'll be killed... Slaves don't get to do this an' live..."
Sidney knelt down and placed a paw on the mouse's shoulder, "Lord Hector is generous... you served him for a long time, and I'm sure he can find it in his heart to forgive you."
"I cannae keep livin' as a slave... I cannae do it." the mouse began to sob, "It's not a life worth livin'..."
"Life here isn't that bad, Finneas..." the fox offered gently, "Lord Hector is a good man, and you can be a good man too if you help us stop this."
"I 'ate yeh, Sidney." the mouse spoke quietly.
"Huh?" the fox questioned, pausing at the accented word, "You what?"
"I 'ate yeh..." Finneas repeated "I 'ate yeh with all I am." and Sidney felt a moment of searing agony followed by an incredibly cold stab as several inches of metal slid into his body, "Yeh think life's so good... yeh think things turn out okay in th'end... yeh think yeh--" but Finneas' monologue was ended as a the tip of a blade emerged from his muzzle, Bane had stuck his short sword through the back of the mouse's head.
"He..." Sidney rasped, moving a paw to clutch the hilt protruding from his chest, "...Finneas... he..."
"Shhh... dear fox... shhh..." the wolf loomed over him, silhouetted by the moon as if it were a silver halo, "Don't move..."
Lord Hector appeared from off to one side, and Sidney felt the stag's hands grip one of his paws, "Sidney... stay still."
"Lord... Hector?" Sidney slowly rolled his head to the side so he could take in the view of his former master. The stag was regal, even in his bath robe. The moonlight glinted off of his silvery fur, making it appear as if he had a glow all his own... making him appear as if he were an angel in the flesh... an angel, like from the tales he'd heard free men tell one another of a place better than being free.
Sidney was perfectly happy with being free but, as blackness closed in, he couldn't help but wonder what might be better. They fussed around him, and talked amongst themselves... even to him, but he didn't hear them any longer... life had been full of pain and servitude and treachery and lies... and, if the tales free men told were true then it would be an end to all of his pain. Sidney couldn't help but feel that he wasn't ready... not yet. Somewhere, deep within the blackness, Tharis agreed.