The experienced spectators would be shocked to learn that this was Vidra's first fight. Most of the crowd was already happy with the spectacle. They expected nothing more than two kids scuffling with each other on the ground.
Instead, the two elves in front of their eyes punched and kicked. It was clumsy and rather funny as the two kids barely hurt each other. However, it was a fight.
Teita composed himself and shook off the small jab. He could tell that Vidra was afraid to stay in his reach, so he decided to chase him and fight in a close-quarter style. Vidra took off towards the edge of the arena with all his might.
Teita chased him and managed to trip him with his leg. Knowing that Vidra was quick on his feet, he decided to pin him to the ground with his body. What happened next was something that Teita would never forget for the rest of his life.
"I'm sorry. I don't want to get hurt any more than this, so we'll have to end it here."
Whispered Vidra into Teita's ears after he received a nasty headbutt from him.
"What?"
Teita was confused for a second, but had no more time to think because Vidra kicked his private parts. He swiftly stood up while Teita collapsed on the ground. Next, Vidra grabbed a handful of sand and threw it into Teita's eyes.
Thus, the fight was over. Teita couldn't even blink from the sand, and had no time to get it out of his eyes either. Vidra pummeled him until Teita lost consciousness. It was a gruesome sight. By the time the fight ended, Vidra's hands were soaked in blood.
It was decisive, yet painful. Teita just didn't want to give up for some reason, thus it took Vidra a while to force himself to victory. He was sad to see Teita in such a state, and guilt took over him several times, but he couldn't stop.
He knew that the punishment for not finishing the fight could be much worse than what he did to Teita. They also promised each other to give their all. Emotions had no place in this fight if they wanted to survive.
What Vidra didn't realize was that doing this as a kid wasn't as simple as it sounded. Even adults can't just turn off their emotions at will. What happened here was a phenomenon that the spectators didn't know how to approach. Confused murmurs erupted across the arena as the fight ended.
"Aren't they friends? They're from the same place, right?"
"The kid was brutal."
The announcer stepped into the arena.
"THE FIRST FIGHT IS OVER! WHAT A TURN OF EVENTS! WHAT TWISTS! TOMORROW! THOSE WHO LOST THEIR MONEY TODAY WILL GET ANOTHER CHANCE! COME AND WITNESS THE NEXT FIGHT. ELF AGAINST ELF!"
The crowd slowly dispersed as the announcer ended his speech. Amongst them, a young woman remained seated, looking at Vidra with emotionless white eyes. Her black pupils dilated for a second before shrinking. Seemingly focusing on the young elf in front of her.
She stood up and simply turned into mist that disappeared in a fraction of a moment, once all of the spectators left the arena.
Vidra and Teita were carried back to their own prison cells once the match was over. The warrior didn't say anything regarding their fight the whole way back, he allowed Vidra and Teita to discuss what happened.
Teita was the first one to talk. He regained consciousness inside the carriage and looked at Vidra, and then at his crotch. The memory of what Vidra did made him shudder. He even cried a little.
"It hurt a lot, you idiot."
"I'm sorry. I-"
Vidra was about to apologize for what he did. Teita looked at him with eyes that revealed how hurt and disturbed he was after the fight. However, soon his facial expression relaxed, and Teita shook his head in denial.
"Don't apologize. We go back and eat with the others. The next fight won't be any different."
Teita was also surprisingly understanding for a kid of his age. It was obvious that the recent events forced them to grow up a little earlier.
Seeing Teita and Vidra coming back from the fight, the other children inside the prison started bombarding them with questions. Both of them were bruised, but surprisingly, Teita was in a much worse shape.
His face was disfigured and swollen after Vidra took his time to make him lose consciousness. The one who told the others everything was Teita. Starting from the rules, up to the last moments of their fight. He made sure to mention what Vidra did to him in detail. There was an obvious childish grudge he held after the match, but Vidra didn't mind it.
They proceeded to eat their meals together and talk about what they would do once they got free. There was also one thing that everyone had on their mind.
"Vidra, what do you think will happen once the fights are over? Do you think they will make us fight with other prisoners? Animals?"
Everyone looked at Vidra as they waited for his answer. What he said, however, made them regret asking the question in the first place.
"They might make us fight against other slaves or animals. They might sell us based on our performance. What you should be worried about is the rules of the next fight and the ones after that. Think about it, we fought with our bare hands. What if they give us swords? What guarantees that the rules remain the same? What if they tell you in the next match to kill your opponent?"
The mood immediately dampened. Vidra was telling them that there was a chance they would be forced to kill each other. Of course, selling them as slaves would be wiser, and the chance of having to kill their friends was low, but it was not zero.
Vidra simply decided to prepare the others for the possibility.