Chapter 16: Not My Home

  After the coliseum cleared out, Igor spoke

  "Your allowed to speak"

  The muscles around my neck loosened at his command.

  I placed my hand around my neck feeling my neck and massaging it.

  "What did you do to me" I asked

  I could already guess what he did, but I wanted to confirm it and hoped that he would give some information regarding this control over me.

  "it's insurance " Igor stared at the empty entrance from the balcony below

  "You didn't want to tell me, so I made sure that even if you didn't tell me, you would be under my constant control"

  Lifting his finger he pointed at me chest.

  "You can't lie to me, even if you tried"

  Bringing his finger down he sighed

  "So, you'll be my right hand man, or more like I'll train you to be my right hand man "

  Grining ear to ear he said

  "Your the perfect candidate, your under my complete control and can't go against me"

  I only listened as he spoke.

  I wanted to ask many things, ask many questions. But I kept my mouth shut.

  I thought that if I kept quiet he will just tell what he wants me to know. Gathering as much information right now is vital, so I'll only speak when he stops talking so I can get as much info as I can.

  Igor opened his mouth but said nothing, he opened and closed his mouth as if lost on what to say.

  He closed his eyes for a bit, a vein popping out of his head before sighing.

  "We need to leave Now"

  I was surprised by the sudden turn of events but decided to obey.

  "Yes, sir" I said respectfully

  My body moved on its own again.

  I followed Igor out of the balcony as we headed towards the room I was previously in where the healer treated me.

  'Why are we going back here' I thought.

  Igor sped up and reach the door knob and right as he is about to twist the handle a voice appeared behind me.

  "Igor whats the rush? " Said a joyful voice

  I looked behind me and saw a figure in a black cloak and hood.

  It was tall figure with gold engravings on the corners of its hood.

  "It's seems the prince enjoyed the show quite a bit " Said the cloaked figure

  Igors face remain stoic while responding.

  "I'm happy to hear my little show was to the prince's standards, now if you'll excuse me I have something urgent to attend to"

  Before Igor could do anything, the figure stoped Igor from leaving.

  "I have business with you regarding the human, the prince wants it. Name your price"

  Igor stoped in his tracks. Slowly Turning his head he said respectfully

  "I'm sorry but he's not for sale" a tinge of annoyance leaked out, which wasn't left unnoticed by the figure.

  "It seem you are irritated by my offer. Don't worry the prince doesn't plan on forcing you to hand him over, but" with a sinster laugh he says

  "I hope you'll come to reconsider this.....Generosity"

  I watch as the figure left, the clicking of his shoes echoed throughout the hallway.

  I looked back at Igor who was staring at the figure in an annoyed expression.

  He clicked his tongue before turning the door knob and opening the door.

  Instead of being greeted by the room where I was being treated by the healer, the entrance of the chain market appeared instead.

  Inside I could see the receptionist spawled on the desk sleeping.

  I followed Igor as he entered.

  The receptionist jolted from the desk and rolled off. She got back behind the desk and acted as if she wasn't sleeping. She forgot the drool on her face though.

  "Hello Igor, I was only taking a slight nap I swear" the streak marks on her face and arm said otherwise.

  Igor ignored her and headed down the hallway. Once he reached the end he opened the door and entered.

  I was about to follow him until he said "Stay"

  My body froze in the spot as I watched him enter the room, closing the door behind him.

  "Hi, nice to meet ya. " extending her hand she said. "I'm Mia"

  I didn't shake her hand and only stared at her.

  Even though Igor healed my injuries in the arena, now that I was out of there, I was exhausted.

  Ignoring her didn't seem to bother her as she took my and shoke it forcefully.

  "It's nice to see some else that is going to work here!" She said excitedly. " I hope we can get along"

  Her smile was pleasant, she eyes sparkle as if she truly meant what she was saying.

  I was left stunned for a moment by her, until snapping out of it.

  'I know nothing about her, she's probably just like everyone else here. I need to keep my distance. '

  With a tight smile, I pull my hand back

  "I hope we get along as well" I responded

  "So, what did Igor say you'll be doing" she asked curiously

  'Should I tell her? If she finds out that I am going to become his right hand man then it might cause problems for me In the future'

  I tried to think about what kind of problems it could cause me.

  My eyes twiched slighy and my brows furrowed.

  'I'm to tired to think about the ways it could cause problems '

  "I don't exactly know yet, he wasn't specific about what he wanted me to do."

  I technically wasn't lying, since I didn't know what I would be doing to become his right hand man.

  She looked at me as I responded, looking into my eyes for a bit before saying

  "You look tired " she reached into her pocket as she pulled out a piece of dried meat.

  "Here, it's not much but it's what I have on me right now "

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  I froze for a moment, dazed by her sudden offer.

  To be honest, her kindness, whether real or not, confused me.

  She's the only person here to actually treat me like a person, to treat me with kindness.

  My body started to involuntary relax as I extended my arm to grab the food.

  She was very pretty, her smile was relaxing and her red hair seem to sway with each movement she did. Her yellow eyes seem to glow when I stared into them.

  As I was about to bite into the dried meat, I was hit with a sudden pain In my chest.

  It felt like I got the wind knockout of me.

  "Are you ok?" she asked worriedly

  I was breathing heavy and brought my hand up to myself clenching it slightly.

  'It's probably Igor controling my body again'

  I grimaced a bit before recomposing my self.

  While I didn't like pain, it helped me get out this trance I was in.

  Looking up back at Mia, my previous emotions slowly faded.

  'I need to be cautious, its people who are usually overly kind when you first meet them that betray you'

  "I'm fine, thanks for the food I'll eat it later"

  I just awkwardly held on to food she gave me, not having anywhere to put it and not wanting to put it in my pockets like she did.

  "That's good " she said.

  The door where Igor previously entered swung open, making me jump slightly.

  "Get over here Colt, I need your help"

  Once again my body moved on its own, making its way towards Igor.

  I followed him into the room.

  The room contained weapons and Armory.

  "Carry this." Igor said as he handed me a short sword.

  I grabbed it from his hands, examining it as I held it.

  It was dusty, the metal didn't reflect anything because of much dust stuck to it.

  The swords condition was worn out, chips of its blade were dulled and missing entirely.

  'This swords sucks, if anyone wanted to use this they would have to repair it first '

  "Take care of it because that's what you'll be using to fight in the Coliseum"

  My face stiffened.

  'Waiit what! How am I gonna fight with this crap?! I'm just gonna break it in the first fight'

  Igor caught my dismay, his previous irritation went away, replaced with a sinister grin.

  "I won't be giving you a new weapon until you beat ten matches in the coliseum, weapons are expensive you know"

  Playing with a knife in his hand he continued speaking.

  "Just think of this as an opportunity to grow, you'll improve your swordsman ship and be able to fight with whatever sword you have, regardless of what state its in"

  Staring at me as he grinned ear to ear he said.

  "Doesn't that sound nice?"

  'No, no it doesn't. That's just a reckless way of thinking. I'm just a beginner'

  "It sound great"

  I tried to smile, it would of been believable if it wasn't for how crazy my smile was twiching.

  Ahahahaha

  He roared in laughter as he watched my pathetic attempt to flatter him.

  "Of course it's great, I thought of that idea, so it has to be"

  He push me to the side lightly as he left the room.

  This time he gave no order.

  'That's weird, I thought he was going to take to a room where I'll be staying in or something.'

  Scratching my head I found it strange how there also seemed to be no scabbard for the sword.

  'Am I just supposed to carry this around like that '

  I decided staying inside he any longer was pointless so I left and found Igor talking with Mia.

  Igor looked over to me and grinned slightly.

  "Colt, you'll be living with Mia from here on out, please make sure to have her wake up on time and keep her in check"

  I found his request strange, my mind halted for a second repeating what he just said to me.

  'Keep her in check, isn't it the other way around, I'm the new one here, why am I the one looking after her.'

  "Ah I'll also Iiked to say that while I'm not around, your to follow her orders. Within reason of course" Igor added.

  'Damn it, why the hell are things turning out this way, fucking son of a bitch.....No. I need to cool it, I don't have much free will here but at least I'm able to move around. At least now I'll be able to find out more about the ins and outs of this city'

  My vision became unfocused for a second as a wave of pain washed over my head.

  It felt like I was about to pass out but I barely kept conscious.

  I was beyond my limit. I needed to rest NOW.

  "OK I will" I said in a hasty voice

  "Great, now if you'll excuse me I have business to attend to"

  With these parting words, Igor left the building.

  The entrance was slient after he left.

  I looked over at Mia to see her yawning

  "I thinks it's time I showed you your new home"

  When she said New home, something irked me.

  I've heard these words before, back on earth.

  I lowered my head slightly as my eye dulled.

  'What a bunch of bullshit. Nothing but liars'

  I didn't want to dwell In the past for long so I put on the best smile I could muster.

  I failed miserably. I was already physically exhausted and mentally, that made my smile look very fake.

  She only gave me a warm smile as she looked at me.

  "Come on. Let's go. It's late"

  She walked towards the door and held it open, waiting for me to exit first.

  I dragged my feet and left.

  Closing the door behind her, she took my hand and lead the way.

  I watched as we passed people on the streets laughing and having fun.

  I saw a man in a suit trying to ask out a lady. Only for the lady to smack him across the face and run away.

  The lady ran right passed me, almost running into me.

  It was at this moment where I realized no one around me and Mia seem to notice our presence, it's like if we were invisible.

  After walking for a but we reach an area that seem to be the resident district where people lived.

  Unlike before in the buslting city, there was some plants growing here. The houses Had grass growing around them with some houses having strange fruit trees growing.

  I saw someone tending to their plants out front of their house, slightly bent as they water their flowers.

  If I only saw this scene before me and nothing else, I would think this world was like earth. Except less technological advanced.

  I didn't know what I expected this world to be, I imagined something more cruel.

  They acted just like normal people on earth, living everyday normal lives

  'But if that were true, '

  I Bite my lip until I bleed, the taste of iron filling my tongue.

  'Why does a place like the coliseum exist? Why do slaves exist?'

  Mia kept guiding through the residential district, unbeknownst to my turmoil.

  After passing many houses, we reached a small house that had vines growing all over the house.

  "Were here, home sweet home!" She said gleefully as she let go of my hand.

  She walked over to the door and pulled out her keys from her pocket.

  Fidgeting the keys in her hand, she tried to unlock the door. She struggled to unlock the door, being unable to put the key in the keyhole for a bit, before accidentally dropping the keys on the floor.

  I walk up to her and waited a couple feet away from her, keeping a slight distance.

  After finally unlocking the door she open the door to reveal a spotless kitchen.

  "Haha. Took me a while but I finally got it open" she laugh self-deprecatly.

  "My home is your home, so feel free to grab whatever you want"

  She walked inside, dragging her feet slightly as she entered.

  I followed behind her and closed the creaking door.

  What greeted me was a plain, but clean looking, kitchen.

  The stove equivalent was a fireplace like furnace with a black pot held inside it. The wooden table and chairs look fairly new, as if barely used.

  To the right was a unkept bed with books scattered all over the floor. There was a wooden cabinet that looked to store clothing. It was rather plain with no designs or engravings on it.

  Mia, noticing me staring at the mess of books said

  "Ah, I forgot to clean that. It's just another roommate of mine, they never clean their mess"

  As she said this she slowly walked over to the mess on the floor and picked it up, throwing the book on the bed when she was done.

  "Alright! let me show you to your room."

  She was still up beat but towards the end it felt like her enthusiasm dulled.

  Looking at her again I could see dark circles under her eyes as she walk down the hall way.

  As she passed the first door, it was slighy ajar.

  She hesitated for a moment before closing the door.

  Scratching the back of her head she laughed meekly.

  "Haha, my rooms a mess right now. I'll just keep it shut"

  Arriving at the second door we stopped.

  "This is your room, make yourself at home" she said hastily, as zipped around and entered her room.

  I watched her as she scurried away like a squirrel.

  'Strange'

  Her behavior was weird, like if she was anxious.

  My eye lids started to drop involuntarily.

  'I should go to bed'

  Opening the door all I found was a bed.

  That's it. Just a bed.

  This didn't bother me as I sluggishly made my way to the bed and collapsed, passing out immediately as I hit the bed.