ADVERTION: This chapter contain description of suicide and sexual assault that might not be suitable for some readers.
***
"What do you think?" Lord Adare asked while looking at me.
At that moment my memories came back like a stormy wave, all at once. With that I knew, I was screwed up.
"Fuck…"
My name is Echo, this name wasn't picked by my parents and I only received it at the age of 8. My parents had no right to name me since they were slaves and a name is something only free people are allowed to choose for themselves or for the things they own in the Sandra empire.
I was born a slave in the Golias dukedom, they owned the most powerful coliseum in the empire, the one people came from all over the empire to see the fights. My father was a gladiator, actually, he was the most powerful fighter, a true champion of the arena, the most coveted manabender anyone knew. My mother worked as a maid that served the Madam of the house, I used to help her in daily activities.
In this world, mages are hunted down as animals, hated and treated as plages, for people fear magic. There are three types of mages: manabenders, healers and elementals. Manabender are fighters, they can use magic to create weapons and strengthen their bodies, most of them are enslaved and forced to fight for the amusement of the nobility. Healers are forced to work in hospitals and can't have any other purpose in life, the most powerful works for the richest and the one called "the Saint" is the healer of the imperial family. Elementals are believed to be extinct, they were the most powerful ones and put up a huge fight against the crown hundreds of years ago, but due to betrayal of one of the rebellion leaders, they lost and were executed.
One thing about manabenders and healers, while elementals could be male or female, manabenders are basic junt men and healers are in their majority women. It's so rare to see a woman manabending or a man healing, that is almost a myth.
I was happy even without freedom. My family loved me and I loved them. Sure, I wished to go far away from there with them and be happy, but it was an impossible dream for the family of a mage to have. But watching my father fighting and winning every week was all I wanted and all I needed at that time.
Things started to go south when the new champion arrived. He was smaller than my father, but stronger than the sun itself. My father died trying to defend his title and his family, me and mother would be safe as long as he kept standing tall in the arena, but he couldn't tank that monster and was decapitated in front of everyone. After that, mother quickly lost her position as the maid in waiting for the Madam and was sent to work in the kitchen. I still remember how she was abused by the other women. I knew they were envious about my mother's position but never expected something like what I've witnessed. I felt sorry but as a child I couldn't do anything. All I could do was watch while my mother got more and more depressed.
When I turned 8 years old, my mother couldn't take it anymore. After she tucked me in bed and kissed me to sleep, she told me she would go find my father in the afterlife. I didn't understood it right away and went to sleep. In the morning I found her hanging in the middle of our small room. I cried her death out loud. Despair took over my body as I screamed and asked why she didn't took me with her.
I don't recall what time it was, if the sun was high or the moon had already risen, but a group of guards showed up at our room to see what happened, they were talking but I wasn't listening. At some point the atmosphere changed and I could see that fucking perverted smile in their faces when they started walking towards me, we all know what I was to them, a girl without parents to protect her, without straight or size since she had never eaten well… a prey.
The first one took me and threw me in the bed, another one started to rip my clothes off. I was scared, their touch made me want to vomit. I cried and screamed for help but no one was coming. Actually I saw someone… closing the door from the outside. That pissed me off and when all the perverts started to take their own clothes off it was enough for me. With all my fear, anger and sorrow, I felt something waking up inside me.
Without thinking twice, I unleashed a thousand daggers of pure blue mana in the guards to protect myself from them. Blood splured everywhere, the floor, the walls, the furniture, myself… that was fucked up, but it saved my life. With the agonizing scream of the guard, maids came rushing in to see what was going on, they couldn't believe their eyes with the vision of me standing in the middle of a massacre and they quickly took to the Duke and Duchess Golias and accused me of murdurer. He had more interest in me being a manabender tho. I still remember his words after I invoked the star of the mages, symbol of the manabenders:
"The legacy of your father echoes in you."
"Echo… is a suitable name!" The Madam exclaimed with a smile. She came walking in my direction. "You're now Echo, in honor of those who came before you," she touched my chin with delicacy, "make them proud."
That day I lost the only family I had left and that night I gained a name. The Duke commended me to be trained as a gladiator and, at the age of 14, I made my debut at the arena. I won every battle, became a champion like my father was, and for the first time in my life I made a friend.
His name was Hector and he was the Duke's heir. We were inseparable to the point he showed up ate the training ground every day to see me. Everytime people tried to buy me, Hector helped me to stay in the dukedom. He gave me the peace I needed. I loved him as family and he loved me. Or was what I thought.
One night when I was 28 years old, close to midnight, he called me to the arena to talk. I knew it was important so I obviously showed up.
"Echo, remember when we were kids and I promised to one day set you free?"
"How could I forget?" a wide smile formed in my face.
"I came here to fulfill my promise." Hesmiled and came closer. "You see… I don't need you anymore."
"What…?" Then I felt it, the taste of blood in my mouth when he craved the dagger in my stomach and took it out, to make sure I was going to bleed enough.
"See, I only kept you close for the power our family held with you belonging to us. But now I'm going to marry the imperial princess! I'm going to be the emperor!" He had a sick smile that I've never seen before, or didn't want to see. "Now, dear Echo… be free in your death."
My body fell on the floor without any strength to fight back as he walked away. I was only able to turn to the sky and watch the stars. Tears ran through my face while I thought I was used my whole life by someone I used to hold so dear in my heart.
"Please.. give me a chance to make things different. Give me one chance to escape my fate!" I stupidly prayed to the stars. "Please…"
Silence. My final moments were coming.
"I pity you my dear." A voice coming from the sky said. "I can't make you be born free but I can help you find your way out of here."
I never thought the stars would grant my wish and when I came to my senses again I was back at the Golias mansion, using fancy armor and I was clean. The only day that happened was when one lord of the neighbor kingdom came. Said and done. The doors opened and the Duke, Hector the bastard and the said Lord came in. But none of it makes sense, it all happened 10 years ago…
"She's magnificent!" The Lord exclaimed. "Are you selling her?"
"Well, she's my son's best friend, as I said before. A true rare type of course, but-"
He 's faking it. He doesn't care about my friendship that much.
"It's okay father. We can't do anything if Echo decides to leave…." Hector interrupted.
"In this case," Lord Adare started talking, "What do you think?" He asked while looking at me. "She will be my daughter's perfect birthday present."
In my previous life I begged Hector to keep me here when we were alone after this conversation, and he helped me. But if I do it again, my sataying would make the Golias family consolidate their power in high society, after all, a slave wanting to stay with their masters is as rare as a male mage healer or a female manabender. I had a million things to say. A million reasons to kill all of them. But all I could say was:
"Fuck…"