Chapter 7
“And every time he would cut off one of its heads, two more would grow in its place!”
Mikey whimpers on my left. He never did like stories about fighting monsters all that much.
Meanwhile, I’m practically bouncing in my seat. “How did he finally kill it, Yaya?”
“He had help.” Our grandmother smiles down at us warmly. “His nephew, Iolaus, waited nearby with a torch. Each time the Hydra lost one of its heads, Iolaus would use the torch to seal the neck closed and stop any more heads from growing back.”
“Wow.” I am in awe.
“Sounds scary.” I look over at Mike, who is curled into himself.
“Hey, ’s not scary,” I scooch closer to him and put my arm around his shoulder, “‘cause if we ever have to fight a monster, we have each other. Right?”
“Right.” He nods, smiling at me a little more confidently. “What happened next, Yaya?”
The sun is shining in my eyes, and it makes me roll over and bury my face into my pillow. Wait, why is the sun in my eyes? Did we forget to close the curtains? It’s never this bright in the morning in our bedr—
Memories of last night begin filtering back into my head: meeting up with Ragnar and Nylan for dinner, walking to the park, the tin of ruhax.
.. I can see that I’m still on the bed pallet.
We all are; Khazak is spooned up behind me while Ragnar and Ny are on the other side in a similar position. I’m the only one awake.
We’re covered by a sheet, but a quick look underneath confirms that yep, still naked. I look around and see our clothes piled in one corner next to Khazak and Ragnar’s bags. I think for a minute about how I can get from here to there and dressed without anyone noticing.
Then I pause.
You took part in what was essentially an outdoor orgy last night, David.
You didn’t just have sex with Khazak, you also had sex with his best friend and his best friend’s boy/partner/slave.
You were practically performing for an audience at certain points.
Maybe... Maybe you can just chill out. Maybe, since you’re definitely not the only naked person in the park right now, you can just go back to sleep and enjoy the morning.
I roll over, burying my face in Khazak’s chest—might as well use all that bulk to block out the pesky sun.
My movements make him shift, pulling me in closer and throwing a leg over mine.
I smile and relax, not quite dozing off but resting.
My body could certainly use it, all sorts of soreness making itself known the longer I’m awake.
It’s at least an hour before the others stir. I’ve heard a few of the other park patrons stumble their way home by now, and I guess it’s our turn. I shift over when Khazak sits up to stretch his limbs before he falls back onto the pillows and turns to look at me, sleep still in his eyes.
“Good morning.” His voice is rough from the night.
“Morning.” So is mine. I move back into his space. The morning air isn’t cold, but the body heat is still nice.
“Did you sleep well?” He leans his weight against mine.
“Think so.” I nod against his chest.
“Mornin’ guys,” Ragnar greets us, while Nylan grumbles and pulls the sheet over his head next to him. “He says ‘good morning’ too.”
“Good morning,” Khazak answers for me.
“We’re still meeting up later, yeah?” Ragnar stretches as he asks.
“That is still the plan, yes,” Khazak agrees before yawning.
“Good. Because after last night, I need a shower and at least three more hours of sleep.” Ragnar pauses as his stomach growls. For once, it’s not mine. “And a really big breakfast.”
“Me too.” Nylan’s head finally pops up.
“Oh, you gonna join us now that you’re hungry, boy?” Ragnar smirks down at the elf.
“Sorry, Sir.” The elf stretches himself over his owner’s lap, face down. “I guess all that meat you fed me last night just wasn’t very filling.”
*smack* Ragnar spanks the on-display rump in front of him. “Smart-ass.”
The four of us get ready to leave after that.
After getting dressed (and Khazak leaving a very generous tip for the people who presumably have to clean all this up), we climb out of the tent and exit the park.
There’s a little talk about getting breakfast together somewhere, but I think everyone really just wants to go home and clean up, so we split up there.
Once we’re home, we head straight for the shower together.
We spend the first fifteen minutes or so just standing under the hot water, letting the water running over our sore muscles.
I can’t even remember half the positions I was bent into last night, but there’s plenty of stickiness in my butt to let me know none of it was imagined.
We don’t go back to sleep, but we do spend the rest of the morning on the couch, not really doing much of anything.
I know Khazak and Ragnar mentioned meeting up again later in the day, but I’m not sure what for.
It’s only when we’re eating lunch that I get any real information about our plans for the night.
“So, what are we doing tonight, exactly?” I hope it’s nothing crazy. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but partying three nights in a row might be too much.
“We are seeing a play.” Oh, that doesn’t sound bad at all.
“A play?” I saw a few of those in school, but that was years ago. “What’s it about?”
“I think you will like it,” Khazak tells me as he cleans our plates. “It is about the honorees of the festival, one of whom was a founder of the city.”
That does sound interesting, especially when you consider everything going on at this festival.
Must have been a pretty cool guy. I’m surprised that the clothes Khazak pulls out are a little on the boring side.
I know it’s the last day; it’s just been kinda fun getting to wear things that are less-than-normal out in public.
Though around here, they’re not that out of the ordinary.
When we leave the house, I realize I still don’t know where we’re going.
Have I even seen a playhouse in town? When I notice that we’re heading in the same direction as most of the other people out right now, I figure out that we are going to the arena.
They must use it for more than just fights.
That brings up some weird feelings. We haven’t been there since. ..
Since I challenged Khazak to a fight, lost, and got fucked in front of a crowd of people.
After that, he owned me. Technically forever, if that’s what he wants, but thankfully, he only wants to own me for the amount of time my friends will be in jail.
There have been a few hiccups since then, but I think we’ve managed to reach an agreement and establish a nice friendship.
A friendship-with-benefits. Really fun benefits.
We walk around to the north side of the building, where we’re supposed to meet Ragnar and Nylan.
As we approach the doors, the crowd slows down, everyone congregating into lines.
We join one briefly but step to the side once we’re in the lobby, looking around for our friends.
We spot them looking at one of the wooden panels along the walls.
The bottom floor of the arena is covered in them, each one depicting a different scene.
“Zratza, Ragnar,” Khazak calls as we approach them. That’s the Atasi word for hello.
“There you are!” Ragnar turns to face us before throwing his thumb behind him. “Have you guys seen this yet?”
“Seen what?” Khazak asks as we both step around him to look at the panel.
It’s...us. The scene on the panel—it’s the two of us.
At least I think it is. I can only see half my face.
It shows Khazak on the right, his sword drawn back as he charges toward me on the left.
I have my own sword drawn, and it looks as though I’m about to leap out of the way.
I think this might be the final moments of the fight, right before my false win, when I had him on the ground.
“Is that...?” I need confirmation that I’m not seeing things.
“You and me?” Khazak is looking at the panel in awe. “Yes, I believe so.”
“Why?” It doesn’t look like he expected this either.
“All the panels adorning the Hall of Honor depict great battles or performances that took place here.” He looks over at me, proud. “It would seem ours made the cut.”
Something about the way he’s looking at me makes me blush, and I’m glad when Ragnar cuts in a second later. “Alright, quit staring at yourselves so we can find a place to sit before all the good seats are taken.” I can hear the people filling the stands above us.
We rejoin the crowd as they file their way up the stairs and into the stands.
The front rows are all taken, but we manage to find something in the middle.
Once we sit down, I get a look at how the arena is set up.
At the center is what looks like a small camp: a number of tents set up around a fire.
There are even a few trees spread out, setting the opening scene.
There’s no backdrop, which means the stadium’s full audience can view the proceedings.
People around us continue to fill the stands, and I can see from across that the place is pretty packed. Everyone is talking but not about anything important, just waiting for the show to start. When one of the gates on the arena floor opens, the audience breaks into applause.
Two older women walk through the open gates, both orcs with black hair pulled back into a bun.
They’re the same two women I talked to before my fight, who offered to help me “prepare.” They must be in charge around here.
The two of them step onto the stage, the crowd going silent as they address everyone in unison.
“They are making a small introduction. This is the sixty-fifth year of the festival, and this play has been performed at each one.” Khazak leans over to translate for me. “It is about to begin.”