Seventh Ring
Part 19: Weakness
New Earth, 418 A.C. (After Contact)
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Seven braced himself against the charging force of his opponent's body slamming into him. The two locked on to one another as they rolled through the blood-splattered sand of the Ring. Their legs and fists were entangled and constantly moving, though it was hard to distinguish who was landing actual blows.

The drudge he was forced to fight was a short, stocky, very densely muscled Borgorian male. Every part of his body, from his legs to his arms and neck, was thick and covered in a leathery, navy blue hide. Both the males and females were bald, but their heads were covered in stumpy horns and two pointed ears. Their faces almost resembled the bull-dog profile of Three, but with sharper teeth and less jowls. Seven had never fought one of their kind before and learned very quickly that they were not to be underestimated, despite their shorter size. The toughness of their skin and density of their bones made it difficult to hurt them-- a quality their race shared with his own.

It seemed his opponent had learned one of his weaknesses; as long as he was close, Seven could not use the full-force of his cybernetic arm to throw punches. He had been relying on staying on his feet to fight and admittedly had little experience with wrestling. His Borgorian opponent realized this flaw early on.

He tried to stay calm as he fought to keep his legs free of the Borgorian's. He felt the thick forearm of his opponent slip onto his throat in a well-maneuvered choke hold. The pressure on his windpipe made his eyes bulge and legs kick feebly in the sand as he fought to get away. The Borgorian laughed when Seven delivered a couple of desperate elbows to his chest and ribs. In return, he sent a few well-aimed punches into Seven's back and ribcage. He held tight, flat on his back with Seven on top.

Seven began to dig his nails into his opponent's arm. He could feel the slickness of blood wet his hands as he shredded pieces of the leathery blue flesh. The Borgorian roared in pain but refused to let go. Seven knew he had to gain some form of leverage. As the edges of his vision began to darken, he kicked off the ground and flipped his legs over his head, twisting his body. The Borgorian struggled to keep his grip on Seven, but the hold was broken and the Kazekian was free. Seven hunched over his opponent. He drew back his cybernetic arm and let fly a volley of punches. The Vesuleum in his arm glowed brighter with every swing.

The sting of his collar snapped him back to reality. He stopped with his fist in the air but remained crouched over the defeated, motionless body of his enemy. His chest heaved as blood dripped from his hand and chin. William had learned of Seven's Vesuleum-induced rage during one of his earlier fights. He allowed Seven some latitude when it came to his bloodlust, but was quick to reign him in if it was taken too far. He used the lowest shock setting on the collar to deliver the message. So far, it seemed to do enough without causing any major damage or disorientation.

Seven fought to bring himself back from the high of the fight. He looked down at the mangled, nearly unrecognizable face of his Borgorian opponent and pushed himself away. A team of Drudges came in to remove the limp body of the losing fighter from the ring.

As soon as his breathing had slowed and the rush of adrenaline and Vesuleum in his body had ebbed, he forced himself to stand. His legs felt weak and tired and his body was covered in blood and bruises. Slowly, be brought his line of sight up towards the observation box. William stood behind the glass with a drink in his hand and a grin on his face. And to his right, standing quietly with one hand on the window, was Ari.

Seven felt a knot swell up in his chest when he realized that she had just witnessed the entire fight and the brutality that he was capable of conjuring in order to win. Was she there by choice? Did William force her to watch? The look on her face was one of fear. He continued to stare at her until the medical Drudge approached him to escort him back to his cell.



“What a wonderful fight tonight, William! Your new Drudge seems to be doing quite well for himself.”

As always after each fight, Seven and the other winners were cleaned up and paraded around while their wealthy human owners drank and smoked and talked about the evening's events. William seemed unusually cheerful, though he wondered if it was because Ari was being paraded around as well. He had to keep up appearances and make everyone think they had a happy marriage. He also liked to encourage the idea that she enjoyed and supported the fights as much as he did. It was all an ugly facade that only those who lived on the farm seemed to know about.

“Indeed, it was a good fight. Your fighter seemed to do well for herself. Has she been training long?” Seven stopped listening to William's banter and instead focused his attention on Ari. She seemed so distant towards him now, almost like the first day they had met at the auction house. He tried to get her to look at him, but she never did. Had he really scared her, or was her aversion to him an act as well?

“You did a spectacular job out there tonight, Seven.” The sound of that voice made his skin crawl. Lydia. “Quite the blood bath, I must say.”

“Excuse me,” whispered Ari. Seven watched as she slipped her arm out from beneath William's and tried to walk away. She did not get far.

“Where do you think you're going?” asked William as he grabbed her upper arm firmly. “I didn't say you could leave.”

“Now Will, if she wants to go, let her go. Maybe she wanted to get herself a drink. Loosen up for once.” Lydia smirked as her eyes met Ari's.

“Yes, I just wanted to get a drink, William. Did you want anything?” She could feel his grip on her arm loosen and watched as he shook his head and straightened his jacket. “I'll be right back.”

“How are you this evening, Lydia?” William's attention left his wife and drifted to what Seven assumed was his mistress. Lucas and Reece had made it relatively clear that something had been going on between the two of them, and whatever the relationship was, it had upset Ari. Although at this moment, Seven disagreed with Lucas on the severity of her hatred, as Ari seemed calm in her presence.

“I'm doing quite well. I just loved Seven's performance tonight and wanted to drop by and compliment him myself. It's been a few weeks since I was able to see him in action, what with my sealing the weapons deal with MiNOS last night. I feel like celebrating.” Lydia sipped her drink and placed herself uncomfortably close to Seven, but did not touch him.

“The MiNOS deal? How did you manage that?” William grit his teeth.

“I have my ways, William. The deal is done. What's yours will soon be mine.” Seven did not understand what was happening, but he did not need to know details to sense a threat. “Speaking of which, how much would you sell Seven for?”

Seven knew immediately what the answer would be. “He is not for sale, Lydia.” The tone of William's voice was no longer that of a welcoming host.

“Don't be foolish. You know he'll never stand a chance. Don't waste his pretty face and body in the Ring when it could be put to so much better use in the right hands.”

“He is not for sale.”

“Name your price. I will pay handsomely for him.” Seven could feel her eyes on him and watched as her hand lifted to touch him. He took a step back and glared at her. His sharp white canines exposed themselves as his muzzle wrinkled and lip curled.

“He said he is not for sale. What's the matter Lydia, is William not enough for you anymore?” Both William and Lydia turned around to face Ari, who had returned from the bar with a glass of red wine in her hand. Seven wondered how much of it she had to drink on her way back. He had never seen her be so bold in front of William. Together, the three of them stared at her in what was both a mixture of surprise and intrigue, at least for Lydia and Seven.

“My, aren't you being fiery tonight. It's a shame you didn't try out this new attitude of yours a little sooner. Maybe then you could have kept your husband in your own bed.”

Ari smiled and pretended to stifle a quaint giggle in response. She then took a deep drink of her wine, smacked her lips at the taste, and in one swift motion, threw the contents of the crystal glass into Lydia's face. William's eyes narrowed.

“You little bitch,” said Lydia quietly as the wine settled into a deep stain upon her once white blouse. She very casually lifted her hand to wipe her cheeks and chin, then looked at Ari with more hatred and anger than Seven had ever seen on a human woman's face. When she spoke again, her tone was threatening, yet calm. “I think you and I need to have a chat.”

“I couldn't agree more,” replied Ari quickly. Seven watched as she playfully rolled the stem of the now empty glass between her fingers. Her eyes never left Lydia's as she started to follow her. Seven could not help but grin, though William's intervention of the fight reminded him of the severity of Ari's actions.

“No. We're leaving. Reece, escort Lydia to the bathroom so she can get cleaned up.” William snapped his fingers in his direction and watched as the large human male sauntered over to Lydia and extended his arm in the opposite direction of the tunnel. Seven stood silently beside Ari while William finished his drink. “You may send me the bill.”

Reece stayed behind to be sure Lydia did not follow them. William lead Ari and Seven out of the observation box and into the tunnel that would lead them back outside. All three of them remained quiet as William closed the door behind them and successfully silenced the chortling laughs of the guests inside. Before they could continue their journey down the tunnel, Ari felt William grab her and slam her against the wall.

Seven moved quickly to intervene, but felt the familiar sting of his collar being turned on. The shocks brought him to his knees while William looked on over his shoulder. Ari struggled and cried out when she felt his grip tighten on her shoulders as he slammed her against the wall a second time.

“How dare you embarrass me in front of my colleagues with your childish tantrum.” He shook her roughly as she squirmed to try and get away. “Don't you ever pull a stunt like that again. You understand me?”

Seven's electrocution continued as he fell over onto the cold, dirt floor of the tunnel. The door behind him opened and revealed Reece, who grinned at the sight of everything that was happening. “Wow, what'd I miss?”

“Just a little reminder for my wife,” said William coolly. Ari whimpered beneath his grasp and looked down at Seven, who convulsed and fought to stay conscious on the floor. “She's obviously forgotten her place in this relationship and thinks I need her to speak for me.”

William finally released his grip on her and shifted his attention to his wrist. With a couple of taps with his finger, the collar's power was cut off. Seven audibly inhaled and looked up at them both as his body continued to involuntarily twitch.

“My relationship with Lydia is none of your business.” His words seemed to fall on a steel-faced Ari, whose eyes stared at the floor. “It has never been any of your business. When you are around her, you will be silent and respectful. Understand?”

Ari did not say anything, at least nothing that Seven could hear. Instead, he watched her nod her head in agreement.

“Good. Get him out of here,” barked William to Reece as Seven struggled to sit up. “I have to make a call to MiNOS immediately. Escort them back to the barn and join me in the house when you're done. We'll have to leave as soon as possible.”



The walk back to the barn was without incident. William's pace had been much more swift, which allowed him to reach the house well before they had even cleared the cornfield. Reece sensed William's urgency and decided not to waste any time with his usual threats and provocation of Seven. Instead, he hurried up to the house as soon as he delivered the two of them to the barn. Seven was escorted back to his stable room by Ari, who never said a word during the entire trip.

Three and Six had already gone to sleep by the time they arrived. Seven could hear the older Drudge's deep snoring a few stables down. He carefully slid the door to his room open and walked inside with Ari following just behind him. When he turned to say goodbye to her, he noticed her face was buried in her hands. He listened as her breathing became erratic and watched as her sides heaved and trembled. The small human girl fell to her knees in front of him and sobbed quietly into her hands. He had never seen anything like this before.

“Ari...” he said softly as she continued to cry and fold in on herself protectively. He had seen a human happy and angry. He had seen them confused and scared. He had seen them laugh and think and empathize, but never cry. Not like this. When Kazekians were in great pain, be it physically or emotionally, they were capable of crying. Was this the same sort of pain?

Seven crouched down in front of her and canted his head while he listened to her cry. He was hesitant to reach out his hand and place it on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, as he did not know if it would help or make things worse. Ari continued to cry into her hands and visibly shuddered when she felt his hand touch her. When she stopped to look up, she could see his concern and confusion, but she said nothing. Instead, she reached out and took his hand and guided it along her upper back. Seven allowed her to show him what he needed to do in this situation to make her feel better. He watched as she crawled over to him upon the floor and pulled his arms around her. She, in turn, pulled him closer into what would end up being a very tight hug. Seven began to understand now. Humans were a physical people and sought human contact for comfort and support. There was no other human around to do this, which meant she needed him to be that person.

“I'm so sorry I caused you pain. I know you were trying to protect me, just like you said you would.”

She had buried her face in his chest, so her voice was muffled and barely audible. What she said resonated with him and made him pull her away so he could look her in the eye. “Don't ever apologize for anything I do. You have no control over what I do or how I react. Most women don't.”

He tried to smile and joke, but it was difficult when he could feel her pain just by looking into her eyes. Her need for physical contact suddenly made sense to him. He pulled her close and hugged her tightly against his body. His chin rested on top of her head while he spoke softly. “No one should ever hurt you. I'm sorry.”

“I couldn't help myself tonight. I just got so angry.” Her sobbing had slowed down enough for him to understand her more clearly, although her body continued to shake while he held her.

“I don't understand why you were there tonight. Did you want to see the fight?”

“No, William told me to go with him. He says he wants me to start attending them from now on and to 'show an interest in what he does.' I told him I didn't want to see the fights and that I hated them. I think that's why he came after me. He was already upset that I had initially refused to go.” Ari curled herself up against him in a tight ball.

“Did he know Lydia was going to be there? Did you know?”

“No, I had no way of knowing who would be there. I haven't seen her in months. Not since the...incident.” Ari sniffed and wiped away a fresh wave of tears while she spoke. Seven's curiosity got the best of him.

“What incident? What happened?”

“I found them in bed together. In our bed. They had supposedly been discussing 'business' together one afternoon while I was out with Two at Culler's. When I came home, I went upstairs to change, and I found them. They didn't even try to hide it. They didn't even stop when I walked in. Okay, maybe there was a pause just to look at me, but it's not like they were embarrassed or scrambling to get out of the situation. Lydia actually ate dinner with us that night, at William's insistence.”

Seven had learned from Lucas that human marriages were similar to how the Kazekians mated for life. Not all of them chose that path, but if they did, they stuck to it or faced dire consequences. He was surprised to hear that human marriages were so lenient. “I'm surprised that is allowed in your culture.”

“It's not. But what can I do about it? Leave him? He would never let me go, and even if I did, my actions would hurt more than just me. William supplies my parents with a lot of business each year. Without him, they would have to go back to Olympus for sure. And Lucas is William's best friend. I would hate to cause Lucas any hardship.”

Seven pulled her away from him again so he could look at her. His tone was serious and concerned. “So your solution is to just deal with it? You don't have a collar, Ari. You can leave. If your parents knew what William did to you, they wouldn't care about what happened to their business if it meant you were safe and happy. I'm sure Lucas feels the same way. Give yourself some credit and think about yourself for once. You don't deserve to be treated in such a way. None of us deserves it, but you can actually escape this place and be free.”

“It's not that easy. I can't just walk out of here and never look back. He would find me. That's what he does. He would find me and bring me back and probably slap a collar on me then. Don't you think I've thought about it before? In all the years I've been here, I've always dreamed of getting out of here and exploring the stars. But I'm trapped. He'd never grant me a divorce because he thinks I would take a portion of his assets. He's very protective of his empire and business.” Her tears were replaced by passion and reason, but Seven was not convinced.

“So do it anyway. Take a risk and leave him. Go make something better for yourself and get as far away from him as possible.” He watched as she scooted away from him a bit. Her need for his comforting seemed to be over.

“I can't. Don't you get it? He will find me. He knows how to track down anyone. He has Four!”

“Four? The Shifter? What does he have to do with anything?”

“That's what he does. Four is capable of tracking people down, and he does whatever William tells him to do. You can't escape William.”

“That's just weakness talking.” Seven did not have a chance to finish his thought. He watched as Ari stood quickly with a grunt.

“I am not weak. I can't help it if I care about the effects my actions could have on other people. Unlike you!” Seven had never seen Ari so angry before. By the time he was able to stand, she had already left his stable room.

“Hey, that's not what I meant,” he called after her. “Ari, wait!”

He moved quickly towards the door to his room and looked around the corner to see if she had heard him. All he could see was her shadow disappearing behind the barn door that lead outside. He exhaled loudly through his nose and hit the door frame with his balled fist before turning and sliding his door closed for the night.

---

ARTIST NOTES:

I'm a few days late, I know. But I still made it to my goal of four chapters in one month, so I don't care! :P

This chapter gave me hell. I...won't even go into it. Suffice to say, I hope it makes sense and you guys like it. Honestly, I'm almost more proud of the chapter art than I am of the story, haha. But the story is good too. I had jakejynx help me out again with some editing and proofing. It's nice to have someone catch weird writing mistakes or plot holes.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy. <3 I'll try and get chapter 20 out in the next few weeks!

Artwork, Characters, and Story © Quaylak