'His Role' (Ledgic/The Hawthorns)

‘His Role’

‘Make sure those shackles are tight, we wouldn’t want him getting free’

Ledgic slowly opened his eyes, an instant pain shooting through his head. He could feel blood trickling down the right side of his face, the pain emanating from a single area on his head. He could barely lift his head, but fought through the pain as he steadily jerked it upwards.

His vision was hazy at best as he peered around the torch lit room he was in. He coughed sharply at the sudden stench of old blood and looked down at the stone floor beneath him. Sure as the smell, there was the stain, the dried remnants of a puddle of blood. He widened his eyes slightly at the sight of his feet, shackled tightly to the wall his back was pressed against. With another few painful jerks of his head he looked up and immediately began tugging his arms away from the wall, hearing only the sound of metal.

He was chained to a cold and damp stone wall, in a room lit only by torches… and the ground was littered with blood. It was as if every metaphor he had used to describe his attachment to his clan had been brought to life in a single dark and dank dungeon. His head drooped again and he closed his eyes, allowing the memory of what had happened in Elwynn to slowly fill his mind.

After the Hawthorns had separated him from Eothan and Zech, they had bundled him into a large cage, covered in silk to disguise the truth. He could remember the stench of hay and horses, the scratching of the pebbles against his armour. The trotting of the horses that were pulling him to his next destination.

He let out another harsh cough, feeling the mix of blood and saliva fall against his bare chest. He could help but smirk at the situation, the idea that he had been through a lot of dark times, bad situations and near death experiences and yet it was the first time that he found himself literally chained up and unable to break free. He turned his head a little, listening to the footsteps moving past the door to his less than likable accommodation.

He carefully jerked his head upwards as the door shot open and the flames of the torches waved and flickered. He coughed again at the dust that filled the room, before opening his eyes just enough to see a figure in the doorway. Everything hurt; even opening his eyes was a struggle through pain. He wondered whether they had placed a curse on him, but it seemed like a useless thing to dwell on, it wasn’t anything he could correct or erase.

‘The baby that would be a monster’
‘The boy that refused that fate and ran away’
‘The man that continued to run, bloodying everything in his path’
‘The man that found his way back to his fate’

‘Hello again, Ledgic of the crippled forest’ said the figure as it stepped into the torchlight, revealing the decaying and grey haired Landrus Hawthorn.

‘You and I have never had the opportunity to talk, have we? Well, I think perhaps you can see why, considering the requirement for shackles’ he said with a thin smirk.
Ledgic lowered his head again and simply remained quiet, the blow he had received to his head wasn’t allowing him to think straight, let alone be bothered to talk to his captors. Landrus stepped forward and grabbed Ledgic’s chin tightly and sharply lifted his head up. Some blood dripped from Ledgic’s cheek, onto his shoulder, as he stared at Landrus as best he could, grinning slightly despite the pain.

‘Ah, I see. Even in a position such as this, you wish to mock me? It as though your father lives inside you… he showed the same defiance in our presence. Every member of your filthy line did the same’ said Landrus as he pushed Ledgic’s head back, grinning widely at the thud of skull against stone.

‘Tell me, he would be the leader of the Caans. Why do you protect that which you fled from?’ said Landrus as he clenched his hand further around Ledgic’s chin, pressing him against the wall.

Ledgic closed his eyes, at first it was simply to ignore Landrus as best he could, to push the pain aside and think of a way to free himself. But as time seemed to slow down he found himself thinking about the answer to that question.

There were the obvious reasons, by protecting the remaining Caans he was protecting the future of their children, including his own. The fact that he cared about whether Valerias lived or died was another obvious factor, but beyond that… he wasn’t sure. Every other man with any sense would have simply fled and taken his family with him, light knew that he believed his family had earned the chance for a life of safety.

‘Answer me you wretch!’ growled Landrus as he released Ledgic’s chin and punched him forcefully in the chest. And as Ledgic coughed and wheezed the answer popped into his head. He took in a deep breath and lifted his head to look at Landrus through tired eyes.

‘Because tha’s me’ role’ he muttered quietly.

Landrus stepped back and simply looked at Ledgic. A bloodied man chained to a wall in a dungeon and even in that situation, he had the nerve to show defiance.

‘Your role, you say? You ran away and left this clan you say you exist to protect. You were not there when Iriden murdered them. You didn’t protect them at all; you even killed your parents. So tell me, great protector, how good of a job have you done?’

Ledgic grinned slightly as blood continued to drip from his jaw line onto his shoulder and chest. ‘Wha’ makes ye think I’m ‘ere t’protect th’people tha’ I ‘ated? Y’think tha’ if ye brin’ folk from th’clan back t’fight me I’m gonna start shakin’ in me’ boots? Y’listen t’me, ye washed up, stick thin’ piece o’ cultist shi’… I’ll protect th’people ye wan’ t’kill ‘cause tha’s wha’ I’m ‘ere t’do, I can take wha’ they can’t take. An’ y’know wha’? There’s a bit o’ me tha’s jes gonna protect ‘em ‘cause it’ll piss ye off. Ye feckin’ tart’

Landrus clenched his fists as Ledgic spoke and stepped forward, lashing out once again. He punched Ledgic in the stomach, before stepping back and swinging his fist at his face, hitting him straight in the mouth. He stepped back again, letting out a deep breath as he watched Ledgic slowly lift his head again.

‘You aren’t going to protect anyone, you piece of Caan filth. Look at where you are; you are at the mercy of my family now. You are ours to do whatever we please with. What do you say to that?’ said Landrus as he calmed down and a smirk slowly formed on his lips.

‘Wha’ do I say t’tha’?’ muttered Ledgic before biting his lip. Landrus narrowed his eyes and simply watched Ledgic as he mockingly pretended to ponder on the answer.

‘You!’ started Landrus before being stopped mid-sentence by a splatter of blood and saliva hitting his face.

‘S’wha’ I say t’tha’. Do yer worse ye streak o’ piss’

Landrus trembled with rage before turning around and beginning to clean his face with a silk handkerchief. ‘She will be here soon, and then perhaps you’ll stop feigning so much confidence. Before you are done here, I will see you cry in fear as you did in the past’.

Landrus moved across the room and stepped outside it, slamming the door forcefully behind him. Ledgic looked up as the draft caused the torches to flicker out and die.

‘The baby that became the boy, the boy that became the man…’
‘How do you run now?’
‘I’ll tell you how, let’s see if we can make your soul run from your body’