Chapter 4 EXECUTION

Chapter 2

VANESSA

The news spread like wildfire and in just two days everyone was anticipating my death in the battle arena.

I was broken and full of regret, it was my fault, I gave up on my parents and failed them. I know that wherever they may be, they would look down on me, disappointed in my decision.

Maybe I deserve this punishment, maybe I deserved to die like this. I brought it upon myself and I must face the consequences.

I looked at my hand and caressed the bracelet on it, this was my last memory of Mom. She gave me this bracelet right before she breathed her last.

I haven't taken it off since that day and I am not planning to. Who knew I would cherish Mom's bracelet this much?

"Time to go slave, get up and get moving."

I got up from the cold floors of my dungeon room and silently followed the path that led to my death. The sky was dark and my life wasn't any different.

The packed house had a battle arena of its own. I was led there and the amount of people who attended made my heart sink.

Did they all hate me this much? No one had ever been nice to me, and here I am thinking it was the fault of my identity as a rogue slave. They all just genuinely hated me. We got to the arena and a roar of excitement rang in the massive crowd.

Alpha Stan was situated on the terrace, a special place for him to have a better view of everything. I had watched from far away the things that happened here and it filled me with dread.

I was directed to the middle and left alone to face the mighty warriors; Gamma Scarlett.

Her arrival brought louder cheers and supportive screams, she appreciated them before finally facing me, the smile on her face vanishing.

Her amber-coloured hair was tied in a bun and her well-built arms were exposed from the green singlet she wore, and her legs weren't fully covered by the shorts she wore. I was clothed in a rag dress, it didn't bother anyone to get me a new dress. This was all I ever had. Three rag dresses.

She can sustain scratches from those exposed parts of her body, but her hair is out of reach. Whereas mine is in two braids. I quickly tied them together to avoid being pulled. I took to this after countless hair pulls from people. Especially the warriors who always get to add my punishment.

Gamma Scarlett snarled at me and I backed off cautiously. An uproar of laughter escaped from the crowd, I sighed pushing their intrusiveness aside. Now was the time I needed to focus more on what was ahead of me.

My fighting skills were poor, and I had not gotten my wolf yet, everything weighed me down, but the little hope I had for my freedom was pushing me.

Sergeant Gabriel came to the arena and approached us, gesturing with his hands to draw closer.

With every shaky step I could muster, I moved closer until I was a metre away from my potential murderer.

"Hand-to-hand combat or fangs to fangs?" Sergeant Gabriel asked and the crowd went wild.

A lump formed in my throat, but I forced myself to say. "Hand to hand." A loud boo echoed after that.

"Fang to fang." Gamma Scarlett countered my words snarling in my face.

"I...I...I don't have...my...my wolf yet." I stuttered, the entire crowd gasped and I drowned in embarrassment.

"Pathetic!" Scarlett barked.

Sergeant Gabriel sighed and grudgingly announced. "Hand to hand!" He left and went to stand in a corner not too far from us as the watchman. He had next to him a warrior with the ancient gong of Blood Lake.

"Fang or hand, tonight you will breathe your last." Gamma Scarlett said with a smirk.

I didn't know what to do, so I sheepishly smiled. I smiled at my death, how foolish could I ever become?

The gong was hit and an unpleasant sound was released indicating the battle had begun.

Scarlett launched at me without warning, she threw a punch in my face, her hand colliding with my jaw.

I heard a loud crack and found myself falling to the ground. My jaw aches so badly, coupled with the wounds I was nurturing.

I spat out the blood that settled in my mouth, forcing myself up. I immediately took to my knowledge, and Scarlett made another attempt to hit me but I dodged and went for her exposed legs, biting into it with my human teeth, as hard as my jaw could allow.

"Urg!" She groaned, I felt a sharp pain in my head and saw myself flying away, colliding with the grassy surface.

Pain lingered in every set of my body and I couldn't help but cry. Why was I being subjected to just that one thing in my life? Pain.

I forced myself to get up, but I was already shivering from every ache and pang. I could barely manage myself or stand still.

Gamma Scarlett came at me again and before she could attack, I went for her arm and bit it as hard as I could. I was thrown away, my back hitting the wall.

I almost stopped breathing and went stiff. The crowd roared in happiness, no one would survive that throw. I could feel my heart slowing down.

I was desperate. I wanted to get away, out of this horrible place, while I still had any strength left. I had to fight. I couldn't die this way and let Alpha Stan succeed, I had to one way or the other win ,Gamma Scarlett.

It wasn't a fair fight, Scarlett had everything, the knowledge, the skills, the strength. She could kill me, but if I could just bring her down by knocking her out, I could get my freedom. I was invisible now lying like a dead person.

"Finish her!"

"Finish her!"

"Finish her!"

She had no sword, nor was she in her wolf to easily rip me apart, which meant she would be distracted thinking of ways to end me.

Gamma Scarlett approached me ready to end the battle. She hovered over my limp body and I could feel the tension rise in my chest.

Miserable, alone, lost. A sudden understanding, a pity mixed with horror, welled up in my heart: a glimpse of endless unmarked days without light or hope of betterment, punishment, starving, sneaking, and whispering.

All these thoughts passed in a flash of a second. I trembled and then quite suddenly in another flash, as if lifted by a new strength and resolve, I leaped.

No great leap for me, but a leap to freedom. Straight into Scarlett's face, I jumped and we both fell to the ground. I heard a crack but it wasn't from me but Scarlett.

"Ahh!" She yelped.

Just like I had seen Sergeant Gabriel teach his student many times, I reached for her now and gave it a weak blow on the sensitive parts that control her nerves.

She gasped and immediately lost consciousness, she was alive no doubt, but I had successfully brought her down.

The silence that followed my victory was beyond frightening. I won fair and square but no one cheered for me. Did they hate me that much or were they thinking I killed Scarlett?

Sergeant Gabriel rushed towards us with dome medical people, I was roughly pushed aside so that they could attend to the body, while I was bleeding out, no one thought of treating my wounds.

"She's alive!" Sergeant Gabriel announced and the crowd roared with relief. And then Alpha Stan's angry voice was heard.

"How dare you play foul?!" He yelled from his seat and my heart sank.

Play foul? I didn't play foul, they all watched, I defeated Scarlett without playing any games. Instead, Alpha Stan was the one doing so, he was trying so hard to get rid of me.

"Execute her!"

"Execute the cheater!"

"Execute the rogue slave!"

"Execute her!"

The crowd went wild, they believed Alpha Stan's blunt lie, or they chose to believe his lie because they hated me.

The crowd was silenced by Alpha Stan's aggressive roar. " No cheater will be tolerated in my pack. Take her to the execution stump." He ordered, a sinister smile spreading across his face.

Three guards approached me immediately and they weren't smiling, not like they have ever smiled at me before, but this. This scared me beyond words description.

I had narrowly escaped death from Gamma Scarlett, now I was going to be faced with it again, in one night.

My hands were bonded in chains and the warriors led me to the stump. I had always expected to be brought here one day, judging from my stubbornness and chosen silence to keep the passcodes.

Out of frustration, Alpha Stan had tried to pull my eyes out, but his decision miraculously changed a second earlier, instead, I was transferred to a torture session where I had to stand on hot coal for hours. That was the least worst day of my life and I was just fifteenth.

One by one, I started having recurring memories of the days I was tortured to death and brought back to life by the Goddess. In a different situation, it would have been good, but in mine, I hated her for it.

We arrived at the stump, the warriors led me up the stairs, and I was roughly thrown on the large piece of wood on the podium, bumping my shoulder on it.

I fell on the cold podium, the chilly cold air of the night burning up my wounds and blisters. My skin itches, from the dried blood on it and the recent bruise on my shoulder made my lying position a conflict.

The majority of collective footsteps and constant whispering, said a lot about the people's zeal to see me die. I didn't know what was more heartbreaking, their hatred, or the lie I was about to be executed for.

"Bring in the sacred silver blade!" I heard Sergeant Gabriel yell.

This was it. I braced myself for the pain as the warriors pulled me up and settled my head on the stump. The smell of wood and blood settled in my nostrils.

I closed my eyes awaiting what would become of my life, maybe this was for the best, death was finally coming and the pain and torture eventually seizing. I could be with my family again.

I felt a painful cold burn as the knife was placed on my neck. The pure silver reacted to my skin, I took in the excruciating pain, waiting for the sharp blade to sear through my neck.

"STOP!" A loud angry filled roar was let loose, my eyes shot open at the voice and my heart stopped seeing who had come to my aid.

I didn't recognize who was standing metres away,saving me from my death ,but I felt a strange connection.

My insides burned and my head felt like it would explode, the strange surge of power rising in my being scared me.

I rose to my feet, my eyes still locked with the stranger, but as soon as I grounded my stance. The energy vanished and I found myself falling, every last bit of strength washed away from me. I collided hard on the podium and slipped into oblivion.