"Giddy up horsie!! Woah there!" I stood silently as I waited for my turn to play the horse, the dog or whatever animal Master Cassius deemed me to be. I watched as he rode on top of the slave boy's back encouraging him to play his part as a horse well by feeding him an apple if he neighed loud enough or if he galloped around the room like a proper horse would. Tomorrow I would no longer be participating in the young masters' games as I would be going to coal mines, on my birthday. I shamelessly wallowed on the ground like a pig for the rest of the day for the master's entertainment I wouldn't give anyone a reason to say I wasn't a perfect slave. I wouldn't give them a reason to kill me.
At last, when I was free to return to my little home the weight on my shoulder felt lighter as I ran straight into my mother's arms. She rubbed my hair and chuckled, but her face was sad.
"What is the matter mother are you feeling sick today?" I asked in worry.
"Ah no my dear...I'm feeling just fine." She seemed to get distant for a while then she continued "Dear do you know why we are slaves? It is not because we are less than. We are humans like everyone else, we feel pain, we get hungry, we die just like everyone else. But my dear son sometimes the weak cannot defend themselves so the strong takes advantage of the weak, will you become strong and defend the weak?" She was smiling but her smile was full of sorrow and pain.
"Mary don't fill his head with such nonsense." My father entered the house and came over to us " Son we are not weak. Our people are strong, but we have been enslaved for so long that our people lost the will to fight. No one wanted to be the one to take the risk and stand up to the masters because the consequences were too horrendous. It hurts too much to fight a losing battle, so people just gave up. But son I want you to remember this each one of us is capable of being more than just lowly slaves our people have the will to be great they just don't have anyone who is willing to fight for them, so their greatness remains unseen. Son, a strong leader can turn weak slaves into strong followers."
Tears streamed down my mother's face, and she started to sob "we love you son" she whispered.
"Mary..." my dad held her in his arms.
Smiling at me he said "Son your mother is just feeling a little emotional right now. Hear what, run down to the mines and look for Jack he's the fellow with the eye patch ask him to bring the package for me. Can you do that for me?" I jumped up determined to get the package my dad wanted as soon as possible.
Night had fallen by time I had reached the coal mines. The men were packing up and getting ready to head back I looked around desperately trying to find Jack, the scary looking man with the eye patch. I spotted him behind a huge boulder smoking and drinking a bottle of rum.
"Mister Jack mister Jack!" I ran up to him and breathlessly relayed the message my father had sent me to tell him.
He just shook his head and muttered, "That crazy son of a bitch... he's really going to go through with it."
Suddenly, I was hit with a chilly feeling, caaaw caaaw caaaw the crow of death was back again this time it boldly perched on the boulder for a second before flying away.
"Come on boy we got to hurry if we're going to make it in time." He jumped up and started back towards the estate, confused and scared I followed behind him. With each step closer to the estate my heartbeat sped up I couldn't shake the terrible feeling that something horrible was about to happen. Something I wouldn't be able to control. We were greeted by sobs of pain and the cracking sounds of a whip. All the slaves had been summoned to watch a demonstration of what would happen if they were insubordinate. My heartbeat speeding up in my chest and the crows warning ringing in my ears I pushed my way through the crowd.
"John the last son of Ryder is guilty of the crime of inciting a rebellion against Master Tarquin Atticus, the Atticus estate and as a result the great King Cesar Tartianus. In order to pay for this dishonorable crime, he is to be whipped 50 times and beheaded as it is in the Laws of Malistania." I looked on in horror at my father beaten and bloody.
" Mary the wife of John is guilty of the crime of stealing the lady Bettany Atticus' jewels which is a crime punishable by death through beating. As it is in the Laws of Malistania she should be beaten to death." As they dragged my mother over to the guards to be beaten to death, she cried in soul wrenching agony.
"Maximus!" she cried " Maximus my son…" she reached for me one last time before they proceeded to beat her to death.
"Boy don't look!" Jack grabbed me and covered my eyes before I could see my father's head get chopped off as a prize for the master. The laughter of the guards, the crackling of the whips and the smell of blood haunted me throughout the night.
I stayed with miss Sue and her husband Henry they refused to let me get taken to the slave quarters for the family less. Miss Sue even baked me a sponge cake out of what little ingredients they had. They sang me happy birthday but even they couldn't fill the void that was in my heart. "Now son I know you miss your parents, and everything feels different now that they are gone but your mom would want you to be happy and continue to live a normal life." Harry said.
I zoned him out. Live a normal life? What kind of life could I live with my parents dead? What was the point? Was I destined to be a slave until I die, working to provide someone else with happiness while I fall to despair?
"...you hear? So just keep quiet and do your work down at the coal mines and you will be fine. Your Dad wanted you to have these today, he treasured these custom-made daggers, said he wanted you to take care of them."
He handed me the glistening blades. Miss Sue busted into tears "your mother was a soft-hearted woman she had no need for jewelry or anything of the sort." She rubbed my face and continued "she only cared about you she said from the moment you were born she knew you be someone great. She named you Maximus Ryder which means Greatest mounted warrior..." she wailed in agony and Harry had to give her some water to calm down. I looked on in silence as I waited for Harry to go to the coal mines.
Working in the coal mines was strenuous and pure misery. A young boy around my age wouldn't stop crying which resulted in the guards punishing him for slacking off on the job. As soon as night fell, we started packing up and heading back. I took a bath; I ate the dinner miss Sue prepared and I went to bed but for some reason couldn't fall asleep. So, I got up and quietly went outside. It was eerily quiet no insects could be heard even the trees were still. I made my way towards the main house my mind blank and my eyes drowsy from a lack of sleep.
"Hey boy stop where do you think you're going at this time of the night?" The guard blocked my path at the mansion door, he looked at me pointedly waiting for my reply.
"Sir today is my birthday so Master Cassius wanted to have a- party… sleepover..." I tripped over my words and looked down nervously. After a minute or so the guard stepped aside allowing me to enter. The huge house wasn't bustling with activity like in the mornings. Silently I made my way to Master Cassius's room. It was late so there were few guards about. Cassius was such a demented 10-year-old bastard that the guards had no problem believing he would want to hold a party at this time of the night for a slave child.
"A strong leader turns weak slaves into strong followers…" the words of my father rang loudly in my head. I snuck into Cassius's room and as I watched him sleep, a thought came to me. I didn't have anyone who loved me, I didn't serve any purpose but to be a slave to the people who murdered my parents until I died. I watched as Cassius slept peacefully deciding in that moment that my father wouldn't have wanted me to live such a pathetic life. I took up one of the fluffiest pillows Cassius had and covered his face. I got on top of him and applied pressure as he failed around underneath me. As I suffocated him, I felt relief wash over me, I am a Fidanite my strength is unmatched, and I would not die a slave. Tucking in Cassius I whispered goodnight to him and made my way to the master bedroom. I slowly opened the door of the master's bedroom to find him making love to his naked wife.
She saw me first and opened her mouth to scream but I was quicker, I slit her throat in one go her blood spraying everywhere. My hands were trembling, and the pungent scent of blood made me feel sick.
"What is the meaning of this?!!!" The master jumped off the bed. His hands were shaking as he looked at his dead wife's head at his feet, her blood on his hands.
"Guards-" before he could finish his sentence, I filled mouth with his blood. He fell to his knees choking on his own blood, reaching for me in desperation. Leaning down next to him I looked him in the eyes so he could see my face as he made his way to hell. I stabbed him repeatedly until my hands were covered in his blood. The room was the picture of murder, I went into their bathroom to wash the bloods off my hands and off the daggers I had used to end their lives. After exiting the bathroom, I placed the brightly lit candles on the bed leaving the room engulfed in flames.