"You don't understand, little female. I am like a God to these people."
Elodie is lost. Literally.
After a massive adventure leads her to a strange planet with enormous alien men, she has few choices left.
On the run from an aggressive male determin...
I stare forward as I walk, unable to look anywhere else without fear of running back and snatching Elodie up.
Salsh constantly whines next to me, glancing back anxiously at the palace as he trots slowly. He doesn't want to leave her. Neither do I.
Many stop to watch me walk by, some pointing and whispering at the last gladiator. My name is legend, my strength notorious. I'm usually bothered by those states and murmured rumors. I don't care now. Let them watch me, let them talk. Everything is pointless without her.
Though I know that she'll be better off here where she can be cared for, leaving just feels wrong.
I clench my fists at my sides, picturing running my fingers through her hair. The recollection of tracing her brown speckle covered skin makes it hard to breathe.
How did this happen? How do I hold so much love in my heart for her when I've only know pain and violence?
I glance up just in time to see that I'm at the front gates. The woods lay ahead, a whole different world from this place, a world I prefer.
The cobblestones beneath my boots cut off abruptly, turning into dirt ahead. I stop where I stand, exactly one step away from encountering the wilderness, where I belong.
For the first time since leaving Elodie at the palace, I turn back to stare at the building's grandeur. That's where she belongs... right?
I run a hand over my hair, pulling at the strands and hating this back and forth inside me. I want to believe I could be enough for that precious female, but I don't feel adequate. Someone so unbelievably important and beautiful wouldn't want to be with me.
But what if she does?
A pang of longing and hope flares to life inside my chest. A sudden magnetism erupts, and it seems to be pulling me back to where she is, away from my den. That cabin is no longer my home, because Elodie is the only sanctuary I need.
Maybe she will want to stay in the palace, but I have to try at the very least. This could be my one shot at happiness. I have to try.
I think of all the times she touched me, smiled at me, that affection couldn't be made up by my imagination.
With my mind made up, I turn on my heel and begin marching back up the streets of the Capital. I have to get back to tell her how I feel. We could get translation devices, and then no words would be left unsaid.
The city is buzzing with life, and I ignore it all as Salsh trots alongside me. He has a spring in his step, excited to be going back for the female that touched our lives. I share a soft smile with him, equally excited, but filled with nerves.
I have to see her, I have to try.
I swiftly make my way back to the front doors of the palace. I halt, realizing that the doors are wide open, and the guards are gone, along with my heart.
Where is Elodie?
I push past the doors, ignoring the towering marble pillars and ornate, ancient paintings lining the walls. None of it matters.
My heart stops as I see guards running in every direction, panicked looks exchanged between Rytarians, harsh frantic words spilling from trembling mouths.
I see one of the guards I handed Elodie off to. I charge towards him, grabbing him by his armor and lifting him off the ground so I can look him in the eyes. His pupils are muddied with fear.
"Where is she? Where did she go?" I demand, my heart thudding erratically, the sound thundering in my ears insistently.
"She's gone. Someone attacked me, and took her. We can't find her anywhere." He insists, grabbing on my wrists and trying to pull them away from him, a pathetic attempt as my fists tighten.
A familiar heat spreads through my limbs, the same feeling that assailed me in the ring when I was a gladiator.
The urge to wreak havoc.
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