52. Drown Some Peasants

**Ester**

“They caught a whole bunch of them last night,” Jeffrey said. He practiced his swing. “Over sixty of them, or so I heard. They’re tracking down other citizens who might have ties to the rebellion. The older knights are talking. Sounds like even some nobles are involved.”

I listened to him as I sat on the ground, legs out-stretched. Jeffrey had managed to sneak past my defenses and hit me on my inner thigh. It hurt like a bitch but now the pain has gone down significantly. However, it was in my best interest to still act like I was still in pain.

“Actually, you won’t believe who they caught in the mix.” He hurriedly sat down beside me. “I should have told you this from before we started training. You know Melissa, right? The diplomat’s daughter? She’s involved too.”

I had to stop myself from smiling. So I was right and she did fall into the trap. I faked shock. “What? That’s so unlike her! I wonder why she did that?”

Jeffrey shook his head, resting his arms on top of his knees. “I have no idea.” He shrugged. “Some people have everything and still aren’t satisfied. I know what I would do if I had a father with that much power.”

”What would you do?”

Before he could explain further, a man came running towards us from the side entrance to the stadium.

Jeffrey and I jumped to our feet right away, ready to defend ourselves with our swords in hand. We didn’t recognize him, which safe to say, means he doesn’t belong here. The closer he got, the more we braced for a fight.

Until a slender wave of water crashed into him and shoved him to the side. He rolled across the dirt ground. Then he stopped, groaning as he struggled to push himself up. The water poured on top of him, then rose into the air before turning him to ice, trapping him in his cold prison.

We watched in awe. “Let go of me!” The man yelled. “You think you can have your way with anyone, don’t you?”

“In fact I do.”

We looked at someone descending from the air. His metallic armor reflected the shine of the sun. “Especially when it comes to criminals like you who go out of their way to disrespect our king,” he finished.

Several other people in armor came rushing to the scene. These were tenured knights, ones that had been blessed with an ability that allowed them to defend the kingdom. How I missed seeing them in action. This stadium focused on hand-to-hand combat, so unfortunately I had rarely seen them practice their abilities.

One of the knights came up to us. “Are you okay? He didn’t throw anything at you, did he?” She asked.

“No, we’re fine.” I assured her with a smile. “We’re safe thanks to you.”

“That’s a relief.” She brushed a blonde braid over her shoulder. “These rebels have lost their minds. This one claims that some friend of his got a deal from a noble to ‘drown some peasants’.” She made quotation marks with her fingers. “We looked up the name he told us but the guy doesn’t exist. Something is wrong with these people.”

Drown some peasants? “I agree.”

“Good luck with your training. We’ll be taking our leave now.”

She and the other knights left. The one with water abilities used them to move the ice cage. Jeffrey and I stared in awe, then glanced at each other.

“Wow!” Jeffrey clasped his hands together. “I can't wait to get one of those powers. Do you think I would get fire powers? The same that ancient dragons had? Or maybe ice powers, like the one they have?”

I rolled my eyes. “You better practice your swing before you even think of welding something that dangerous.”

He immediately drew his sword. “Do you think I'm incompetent?” By the grin on his face, I knew he was messing around. With a chuckle, I waved him off.

“Stop playing around. We've been out here long enough so let's put our stuff away and go clean up.”

He shrugged. “I planned to spar a while longer, but I guess you're right.”

As we walked back to the armory, Jeffrey carried on about all the cool missions he would be assigned once he was knighted. I listened to him the best that I could, but most of my mind was occupied by something else completely.

If what I heard was right, then I needed to pay a visit to that prisoner.

**Melissa**

What the hell, what the bloody hell? I don't deserve to be here. The cell is cold. While my surroundings are more comfortable than other cells thanks to my station, I still have no privacy. The bed might be soft, but I have to be quick when using the toilet on the off chance that a guard will walk by.

I played with the food on the tray. It could have been better. If I was home, I could have asked the cool to prepare something nice for lunch.

I heard footsteps approaching. Thinking it was another guard, I didn't bother looking up until I heard a voice.

“That solemn look doesn't suit you. Neither does being locked up in this cell.”

Sirius wrapped his fingers around one of the bars. My eyes widened in shock. But one thing was for sure. This is my chance to get out of here.

However, he didn't look happy in the least. I immediately figured out the reason why.

I turned in my chair to face him. “I'm not a rebel. I had no idea that they were even there.”

“Then what were you doing at a bar at that time of night?” He questioned. “And don't say ‘drinking’. We both know you're not a fan of it.”

“I was following a lead.” Turning fully, I continued. “I figured that if there was a rebellion going on, the rebels might be useful to…”

A thought surfaced in my mind

“Her,” I muttered. “That bitch. She set me up!”