Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Dragonscales ❯ To Live ( Chapter 6 )

“My people…my world…my empire…my freedom...” The words came out harshly between gasps for air. Apparently the beating had punctured the boy's lungs.

 

“…everything that once was mine has been taken from me. How…how can I live on…when there is nothing left?” A bloody cough wracked his small body.

 

“…when everything that should be mine…belongs to another…”

 

His last words were a barely decipherable growl, full of murderous hate that was as useless as he was in his current state. He could not stand—they had broken his legs. Neither could he lie down, as his entire back was scored by whip marks. He could only sit half-curled against the wall like a tortured prisoner awaiting release. Or like a freshly purchased slave waiting to be clothed.

 

*Everything you have, everything you touch is mine, my foolish prince. Even the clothes on your back.* The ruby lips smiled. * Now let us ensure you never forget.*

 

The lesson could never be forgotten by those who heard it. Time could only dull its serrated edge. Zarbon considered the boy for another moment and spoke.

 

“Do you think you are the only one who has lost everything?” he said without emotion. “The only prince who has lost his kingdom? The only living being who is enslaved?”

 

The pain-filled glare on the boy's face turned to confusion at the sight of the two small glittering objects in Zarbon's palm.

 

“Relics of a throne I will never ascend and a people I will never see as long as I am alive.” He withdrew his hand and calmly put on the earrings once again. “Remember this, young prince. We who have lost everything are the only ones who are free to choose what to live for.”

 

He turned to leave the cell. It was silent except for the shallow breaths of tired lungs.

 

“But there is a simpler answer to your question,” he stated, pausing at the door. “You just keep living.”