An Unknown World

The Worst Nightmare

My attention was drawn to a woman, likely the mother, who was hugging a child with tears streaming down her face. She was pleading in Greek, which sounded to me like, "Please let him go."

Then, I noticed a tall man, nearly ten feet tall, raising a whip as large as him, poised to strike the woman.

Acting on instinct, I stepped between them, bracing for the impact of the whip against my back.

But to my surprise, it never came. The noise in the crowd suddenly hushed, replaced by murmurs.

Turning around, I saw Leo standing there. I had no idea how he had gotten there, but he managed to catch the whip with just one hand, inches from where I stood.

The mother, relieved, hugged her child tight. Leo began speaking to the whip-wielder in Greek, calming the situation.

Then, a loud horn blared. The king's angry voice echoed through the crowd, and he stormed off.

Leo pointed towards the palace, and a sinking feeling settled in my stomach. "This is a nightmare," I thought.

As we headed back, the child ran to Leo and hugged him, still crying. It was like an ant hugging an elephant. Leo gently patted the child's back, then led us back on the path to the palace.

"What's up this time?" I asked Leo.

He cursed under his breath. "Not sure, but it's worse this time."

Suddenly, the symbols on my wrist started to glow. "What do they mean?" I asked Leo.

He looked puzzled at first, then seemed to remember something. He scooped us up and ran towards the cell. Before we could discuss further, Leo's expression changed.

He pressed his thumb hard on the symbols on our wrists, his eyes closed in concentration. We winced as the pressure stung, but when he released his grip, the symbols vanished without a trace.

As I turned to Leo to ask how he did it, I caught a glimpse of something on his wrist, but he quickly hid his hands behind him.

"What was that?" I asked, my tone unintentionally harsh.

Ignoring my question, Leo started walking towards the palace. "Come on, it's getting late," he said.

We exchanged puzzled glances before following him.

___________________________________________

Inside, the king's presence was terrifying. Leo was tense, exchanging heated words with the king.

We followed back quietly, trying to make sense of it all.

Finally, we were back in the lance room. I tried to ask Leo what had happened, but he seemed distant. "What did he say this time?" I asked cautiously.

Leo looked troubled. "The king wants the fight tomorrow," he said, his voice heavy with anger.

Sophie choked on her water, shocked. "Tomorrow? But we've not even practiced properly!" I protested.

Leo's expression turned to frustration. "There's no bargaining now. We have to follow his orders."

"But that's not all, right?" I pressed him.

Leo's anger flared, and he slammed his hand on the table. Sophie and I nearly jumped out of our seats, exchanging worried glances.

He calmed down, apologizing for losing his temper. "The kid stole jewelry. It's the rules," he explained.

"But he's just a kid!" I protested.

Leo shrugged, but his voice carried a weight of anger. "Rules are rules."

I couldn't grasp who he was angry at-us, or the one who made the rules?

Before we could discuss further, Leo handed us lances. "No time to talk. Practice, or face the dragons tomorrow with no pre-training," he said sternly.

We accepted, knowing there was no other choice. As I touched the lance, the symbols reappeared, a reminder of the challenges ahead.