- Laith Taher 169
He grinned a malicious grin. “Don’t think that we
mistreat our guests. By God, if you obey us, we will bless
you with the grace of heaven. Yet, if you challenge us, I
will make the last two days seem like heaven to you. Eh,
who is your master, Adrian?”
Adrian started making sounds, so Harlem moved
closer to him saying, “Do I hear you say, Matthew?”
Adrian shouted with the little force he had left in
him, “No. Addison is my master.”
“Whip him two hundred times, then spill cold and
hot water on him and whip him again and so on,” said the
prince.
Adrian was whipped two hundred times, had cold
and hot water spilled on him, then whipped again and so
on. He remained that way with the two torturers taking
turns torturing him for two more days while he was still
holding out quietly.
The prince returned and tried with all he had to get
his adversary to submit. “This is your last chance. Who is
your master, Adrian?”
Adrian repeated the same answer, so Harlem
ordered the soldiers to heat a rod in fire and burn Adrian’s
body with it in addition to all previous forms of torture.
I swear I shall never give in even if you subject me
to the worst torture ever. The Prouds’ dignity will stay
upheld in the entire Widea and the whole universe, thought
Adrian, who grew stronger and tougher in the face of the
prince’s cruel torture.
Adrian favored his people to himself. He even
favored their dignity to his own life. He could have said,