Retribution

X - bête noire

Chapter Ten - Bête Noire

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"Don't be scared, little miss. We just want to have a conversation~" One of the uglier men cooed as he stepped toward me. I felt my body tense up in disgust; not only did he call me miss, but he was repulsive to look at. And do I really look like a girl? I'm a bit tall to be one..? Right? I moved to the right, dodging a man who tried to grab me from behind, following a sense in my body that told me to move. "We've got a slippery one this time~," The ugly man disgustingly licked his lips.

"She'll fetch a nice price!" Another man laughed. Those are the ones selling girls? How indecent. I wasn't sure this world had such assholes, but I now know they exist everywhere. The men around me chuckled and slowly tightened the circle they had created. Should I scream? But they're monsters selling little girls! My mind scrambled the closer they got; if I went with them, I could find their hideout, but clearly, I'm a man underneath the cloak. Besides, I have no escape plan!

Just as their grubby hands were about to touch me, the ugliest suddenly screamed out in pain. When I looked at him, I noticed his left hand was gone. The blood oozed out of his stump, falling onto the floor with an awful slapping sound. The smell of metal engulfed my nose, making me stumble back. Never had I seen a man in so much pain. His scream- the blood reminded me of everything I was trying to forget!

Before I could properly function, someone covered my eyes and gently, yet securely, wrapped their arm around my waist. "It will be alright, miss," His voice... I recognized it. Suddenly the man holding me pulled me away, leading me further away from the smell of blood. The screaming from the other men filled my ears. The sound was deafening. I let out a breathless gasp and shuddered. All I wanted was a drink!!

The man holding onto me then spoke. "You're safe now. Breathe..." He was close, his voice overpowering the echoes of the screams. "I've got you... you're okay, Miss," It was comforting to hear such words, but I'm a man. I have a pe-

"Blackbird!" It was a new voice. "How's the miss?" He seemed kind, but again I'm a guy!! Am I really that small...? I thought Ezra was rather handsome and well-built.

"She seems to be in shock." The man behind me answered. His voice was familiar, hot, but familiar. "Did you get anything from those men?"

"Unfortunately, they only delivered the girls to the midpoint. They were useless otherwise." A newer, rougher-sounding voice reached my ears. He, too, seemed familiar. Ugh! I can't stand this anymore! With the male's grip on me loose, I pushed away from him, turning around to get a glimpse at who had saved me. Yet, before I could get a good look at them, my legs gave out, forcing me to the ground. I lowered my head and realized my hood had flown off when I pushed away from that man. Oh god.

~~3rd POV~~

The hooded 'girl' pushed herself away from one of the teens, her hood flying off to reveal messy black hair. She twisted her body to look at the others, but it seemed her body couldn't take the stress and dropped to the ground. The three men around her seemed to freeze in place. The first to move was a beautiful blonde-haired man with emerald eyes. He crouched in front of the young woman and reached his hand out, aiming to push away her long-ish hair. "Miss..?" As the beauty attempted to touch the shaking girl, she snapped her head up and swatted away his hand. When his green eyes looked into crimson ones, everyone stood still, frozen with surprise.

"You're..." The blonde started, but another interrupted him. "Ezra Kingston." With his identity out in the open, the crimson-eyed boy looked toward the one that called out his name. Despite their masks, Ezra undoubtedly knew who the three men- teens were. Keon Blackburn, Alexander Diaz, and Isaiah Holt; otherwise, the broker, the prince, and the knight. The blonde, Alexander, tilted his head as he dropped his hand. "Ezra Kingston?" He crouched before Ezra as his beautiful green eyes stared at the boy. "Who?"

As the black-haired male blinked in surprise, he stared at Alexander. No one knew Alexander was a prince, but with his crystal-like eyes, flawless hair, flawless skin, and that perfect personality: it was hard not to call him the prince. On the other hand, it surprised Ezra that the prince didn't know of him. "The trash of the school, Leo. Kinda hard to miss rumors about him," Isaiah answered, using Alexander's code name. Isaiah was also very attractive; he had tan skin, bright red hair, and sharp golden eyes. Those narrowed eyes were pointed straight at Ezra, watching him like a hawk.

Despite Ezra's best efforts, he was terrified. The events of his past and what had just happened had shattered his voice. His slender frame trembled, his red eyes were wide, and it looked like he would burst into tears. Now you have to understand that the three young men in front of him had participated in Ezra's killing- the killing he had vivid memories of. His mind and body had experienced two deaths, and he had just recently entered this world. So, yes, he was beyond frightened.

"He doesn't look like he holds an ounce of malice..." Alexander, codename Leo, stated, observing Ezra like a pet rat. "That's because he hasn't done anything yet." Keon suddenly spoke up, marching towards Ezra. His hand roughly grabbed ahold of Ezra's arm and hoisted him up. "Get up." He growled. His demeanor was completely different from when Ezra was a girl. A pathetic whimper left Ezra's mouth as his free hand reached to grab Keon's arm. "W-wait.." He choked up, looking at the taller male.

"Blackbird!" Alexander snapped, quickly standing up. He grabbed Ezra's other arm and pulled the male towards him. "Let him go! He's obviously not in good health!"

While Keon glared at the male, he opened his mouth to spout some nonsense about Ezra's behavior but was interrupted by the boy in his grasp. His voice was trembling and weak, but something was commanding about it. "Let me... go." Both Keon and Alexander slowly let Ezra go, watching the boy closely. His crimson eyes closed for a moment before he approached the closest tree. It had been impossible for Ezra to notice earlier that the three teenagers had taken him to the woods outside town. However, the woods were still quite far from the dormitories.

The four stood in silence, all very uncomfortable. The first to speak up was Alexander. "Ezra... we can take you back to the dorms..?" He offered but silenced himself when he noticed the others piercing glare. "Thank you for helping me earlier." He said calmly, trying his best not to sound so weak. "But forget about it, all of it. I don't exist in your life, and you don't exist in mine." His words were harsh and rude, and his tone was even worse. When it seemed the others had understood, Ezra pushed off the tree and went back into town, pulling up his hood.

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UPDATED 03/2023