The Noir Hero
#1 of Noir Hero
The noir hero is a knight in blood caked armor. He's dirty and he does his best to deny the fact that he's a hero the whole time. -- Frank Miller
My name is Keba. I am and have been for more years than I can remember a slave; a slave to both to cruel and sadistic owners alike. That is until the day I met him.
Part 1: The Beginning.
My story begins when I was fifteen years old. I grew up in a decent village. We had the basics. Homes, shops, a church and a blacksmith; everything we needed to maintain ourselves. I was like everyone else in my village, yet different all at the same time. I partook in lessons to become a scholar while all the other young male furs took knight training. That alone had already made me an outcast among my peers. For at my age they would laugh and tease me for choosing to stay inside to read, write, and study. My parents did not approve of my choice either, which made their discovery of me on that day even worse.
One afternoon I was returning from my studies at the village church when I saw a courier walking towards my home. He was a slim Artic Fox. He looked to be amazing! Shining white fur: the whitest of whites and the black around his hands and feet were blacker then the night sky. He was tall, slim, and quite easy on the eyes. I was blushing when he caught me staring at him. I tried to explain myself, but ended up uttering gibberish. He pulled me to the side of my home and began to kiss me. I was shocked and tried to pull away, but he held his firm grip to me, until I began to relax and enjoy the kiss. He had been around my city countless times and I couldn't stop myself from thinking of him every time I saw him. We were muzzle locked in a passionate kiss for what seemed like hours, stopping only for breaths. This was our soul mistake.
We continued to explore our new found kindling love, touching each other, exploring the new body with our paws, and finding new ways to pleasure one another. We kept our meetings secret for almost a month. One day I found him standing in front of my home and he told me to follow him inside. As soon as we were inside, we began to kiss passionately. He told me that he loved me and wanted the pleasure of being my first time. I could not deny that I had started feeling that maybe I had love for him as well. I had longed for that same love back, so I agreed to go with him. We both wasted no time in removing our clothing, and resumed our usual make out session. It however ended quicker than either of us expected, for as soon as our eyes were closed and tongues met, my parents walked into the room.
Everything happened in a blur. Before I could do anything the fox just like his job, came into my life and disappeared just as fast, never to be seen again. My mother was in tears, and my father was blaring at the top of his lungs. My whole life was destroyed in that single instant. I spent the rest of the night, alone, in my room. My parents said nothing to me about what they saw. A few minutes of yelling and crying, my parents went into their own room and left me alone. Part of me wished that this would just pass But I knew, by the feeling of sinking into nothingness in the pit of my stomach, that something wicked would be coming my way soon.
My assumption was confirmed two weeks later. I walked into my home to see a strange leopard standing in my living room. He was dressed in somewhat royal attire, so I guessed that he was from a neighboring city. The long silk robes of his, covered every inch of the tall figure.
"Who.... Who are you?" I asked nervously. I tried to show no fear, but by instinct, my tail tucked itself between my legs. The leopard looked down upon me, with a sickening grin spreading across his face. He did not answer me verbally at first, but simply pulled out a simple collar out of one of his long sleeves. The sinking feeling that I had in the pit of my stomach was hitting me even more now.
"Your parents have decided that you; Keba Islund, are of no more use to them and have sold you to the slave trade."
"What!? No, you can't!" I made a break for the door. Opening it quickly I ran muzzle first into a large bear, much bigger than the leopard. He was blocking my only escape. I pounded on his large gut to no avail. The bear picked me up by my scruff and hauled me towards the leopard. I was dropped to the floor like it was nothing when it hit me. I was now just that, nothing. My parents had disowned me, and allowed me to be sold to possibly some far off land to a cruel master. My life had no meaning anymore. I stayed on the ground while the leopard lifted my head slightly and secured the collar around my neck. I was now and forever more, just Keba.
"It is good you have learned your place so soon. You are quick to submit, this should raise your price a few coins with any luck." said the leopard. "Kor, carry the slave off to the cart. We need to make it back to the city before sunset." The bear picked me up once more and carried me through to the back entrance of my home. There, I saw what looked like a prisoner cart. It was enclosed on all sides with the back being sealed by large iron bars. Kor, as the leopard called him, opened the bared gate and threw me in. I hit the far end wall hard, but I managed to crawl up to the iron bars and stare out into the world I once knew though a different set of eyes, the ones of a slave.
My life would never be the same again. I would never be able to read my scrolls when I had down time, never cook my favorite foods whenever I wanted to, and never see my parents again. My parents, how could they sell their own son all because they discovered he preferred males over females? They tossed me away without a second glance. Yet, somehow I could feel no hatred towards them. I felt only hatred towards myself. I caused the actions that led my parents to do what they did. As the cart was pulled away I saw my parents walk by, and for a split second, I made eye contact with my father. His gaze was as cold and hard as the stones on the frozen mountains of the north. I saw my mother bury her face into my father's broad chest as she wept at the sight of her son being carried away. My father took my mother inside, and that was the last I ever saw of them.
I attempted at sleep, yet it never came to me. Thoughts, feelings, and emotions whirled around in my head, causing time to distort itself in my mind. I was still huddled up in the back of the cart, stunned and dazed. When Kor finally stopped the cart I knew we had arrived. He opened the cage door quickly and glared at me. "Let's go mutt!" He ordered at me. I remained unmoving. He got in the cart and reached out with his big paw, yanking on my collar to drag me from my hiding spot. Letting go of the collar have way through exiting the car, I ended up falling muzzle first into the muddy ground, ruining my pride, my pure white coat. Kor hauled me onto my feet and quickly applied a set of rusty shackles around my wrists. Unbeknown to me, an accompanist of the bear had also attached shackles around my ankles as well. When I looked up, the afternoon sun was gone, replaced by the sky of dawn.
"Move it mutt" bellowed Kor. He roughly pushed me back into the mud. By now, most of my fur was ruined by the patches of mud everywhere. I got back up slowly and made my way with Kor to my left and what appeared to be another slave to my right. I could tell by the collar around his neck and the splayed neck fur that he had been a slave for years. The slave was a fox. He barely looked even old enough to be ten. The fox's fur was matted down in places, and his fur color was long since dulled. How long had he been kept there?
As we made around the grounds of the slave market, I could tell that it was a permanent establishment. The cages were rusted with age and the stalls were staked in place to the ground. The empty field that once was, had been trampled and built upon to make the paths of this horrid place. It was the perfect location for it. There were wide open fields around us, no chance to run and hide for miles, possibly miles to any city. We had moved through several holding pins when we stopped at one that was vacant. Kor opened the cage and threw me in. The fox walked dejectedly in with the door clanging shut behind him.
The sound of the lock clicking made my new found position that much more clear. I was no longer a fur, just property waiting to be bought.
"Quick, you must wake up!" said the fox "They mustn't see you like this!" I slowly picked myself up and sat back against the wooden wall. Then took a minute to collect myself.
"Wha...what are you talking about? Who mustn't see me? Who are you?" I said while rubbing the weariness from my head.
The fox stood back a bit and stood in an odd pose. He spread his feet shoulder length apart, and placed his hands apart. He splayed his ears and kept a soft gaze on me. "I am Dereck" he stated "I am seven years old and have been a slave since I was five." I saw a small tear run down the side of Dereck's check as he said this. I felt a pain in my heart to hear that he was so young and forced to live this life. Dereck soon relaxed a little after collecting himself then sat down next to me and curled up at my side.
"You are so young. How did you end up a slave? Why are you here?" I cupped his checks in my paw and stroked his head fur. He shed a few more tears before he began his story.
"When I was five, my... my family didn't have a lot of money. My father spent many a night getting drunk on ale at the town Pub. One night, he got so drunk he made a deal with are land owner. In exchange for me, they would have full ownership of the land. I had no say in the matter, for I was just a small child. In the two years since, I have had three masters, several beatings, and to many bad memories to count." He replied full of sorrow.
I was left speechless. This little fox had been without a family for so long, and I would never have believed his tale if I did not hear it first-hand. "I'm so sorry." There was nothing else I could say. It was the only thing to say. There were no words to comfort him. All I could do was hold him close, and pet his fur. There were no buyers around that night. So we spent the rest of the night learning all we could about each other, for we knew not when we would be separated.
A week had passed since that night, Dereck and I were still in the same dank cage. We had passed the time looking back on better times. My own fur had grown dull; the mud dried and crusted over, turning my once glistening white coat into a lifeless brown. It was both a blessing and a curse. Several buyers came by and inspected us, but many were turned away by Dereck's age or my filth. Dereck taught me the ways of the slave. In short: there was none. All one needed to know is that your owner is to be obeyed and respected. Although Dereck knew much, he told me that every owner is different so expect everything and nothing at the same time. Although we had only known each other for a week, I felt protective over Dereck. He became the little brother I never had. We would try our best to make the best of our current situation and for a brief moment, I had forgotten that we could be sold at any minute. That moment has now passed and fear set in when a large tiger strolled up to our holding cage.
"Slaves, present yourselves." He said in a calming tone. Dereck and I instantly jumped to our feet and stood at attention. Dereck had explained that slaves introduced themselves while standing in this position, then giving their name, age, and how long they have been a slave. A lesson that he had to learn the hard way. Dereck stated his information and then I did my own.
"I am Keba. I am fifteen years old and have been a slave for one week." Hearing myself say that was degrading, no wonder it was expected out of us. The tiger looked back and forth between the two of us.
"Fox, step forward." Dereck stood closer to the cage door as commanded. The tiger grasped Dereck's chin and began to examine him. Was this tiger for real? Was he about to take the last thing I call family away from me? My fears where confirmed when he said. "Guards! Come here, I have made my selection! I want this fox."
No later had the tiger said that two armored cover reptiles came and unlocked the gate and dragged Dereck out by his collar. My heart ached with sorrow as I saw Dereck get dragged away by his collar: his paws outstretched towards me, almost begging for his brother to save him somehow. But this brother had failed. There was nothing I could do, or was there?
"Don't worry Dereck! I promise by the God of the Wolves himself, I will find you again one day! I promise!" I don't know if he heard me or not, but I planned on keeping my promise no matter what. I made it to the God of Wolves himself. To break my word would be to surrender my right to call myself a wolf.
Weeks have passed and I still sat in the wretched cage, waiting for the inevitable. Like an angel of death come to grant my wishes, a shimmering snake slithered up to my cage.
He did not ask for me to present myself, but stood there and looked into my eyes and said in a near whisper with a flickering tongue. "Yesssssss, you ssssshall be perfect."