Lost Cause

[Lost Cause]

I am back in the desert... The black gates are open. There is no sign of the beast or the hand it took. Its chains lie on the coloured sand still instiling fear in me.

I pass through the gate, leading to a dark corridor. I can barely see the stone walls and the floor. A short walk later darkness is gone and the sun in all its glory hails me.

Below the sun, orange fields are covering the face of earth. Between the sun and the earth. Between the sun and the earth, there are the barefoot slaves and their watchers.

A few servants are holding a giant umbrella over a man sitting on a low stool, protected from the merciless heat unlike the rest of us. His long beard has more than a few whites and greys but he looks strong still. He's signaling for me to come.

"Master Leon... You are alive?"

"What? Of course I am! You stood under the sun too long. Come here for a while to the shades."

I've probably lost track of reality... Is this a dream, or was the dog a dream?... What about the desert, and Seth? My Arm?

My left hand is still here, I am back in reality again... It was all a creepy and painful dream then?

"You really don't look well..."

Master orders one of the servants in attendance to bring a chair so I can be seated next to him.

I wont dare... How can a lowly slave like me dare to sit next to the Don?

He just smiles and pats on the stool a few times. When he sees that I wont budge, he gives up with a sigh.

"You saved my life back there... Even though, I know, you two were like brothers."

I can't find a thing to reply to that. What am I supposed to say, 'I don't know why I saved you?'. I feel terrible... should I say ' I would have preferred that you died instead?'.

After a very short while I give an emotionless nod.

"I need someone like you in my travels. You will be with me at all times from now on."

Of course... I have no choice. I am a dog, held with the collar and the chains of this cursed fate.

The stars in heaven bore me as a slave, and the earth ensures that I stay as one, with her cardamine.

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[Lost Cause]

"Oy, I am Juan. They call me 'The Hound of Leon'. We will teach you everything you need to know to keep master safe."

This cocky bastard has an annoying grin on his face. The Hound of Leon, huh? So you are proud to be a dog. You couldn't keep your master safe last time though, could you?

Behind him is a woman. She's the other bodyguard. She winks as she speaks as if she's trying to calm me.

"Yup, call me Maria. In no time, you will even fly a Sabre better than the navy."

What's a Sabre? Fly? No way, I am afraid of heights. We are rarely allowed to venture to the second floor of the villa, and I am supposed to fly now?

They are older than me, probably in their early thirties while I am in my teens. They look strong and alert, prepared for everything.

As time passes, and I become more of a bodyguard, we get closer. They replace Seth and in years I start to call them as family, even.

It was never a secret for me that Juan and Maria are in love. But if you are a slave, these kinds of things can be tricky. You are the property of another, you are not allowed to love nother without the consent of your master, let alone be together with your love, or marry.

They had to keep it secret from everyone, until Maria got pregnant. The child is a sacred thing even in Malta, even if it is a slave's. Leon allowed them to marry.

"After one last visit to the Liberty."

He said that, and afterwards ordered us to get ready.

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