Queen of the Underworld

Chapter 1: Mark of the Sisterhood


A gladiatrix enters the ludus and challenges Spartacus to reevaluate all that he holds dear. :: Spartacus/OFC ::


The noise was deafening in the underground arena. The crowd's roaring demand for blood overpowered all else, even the booming of the woman's own heart. She stood in the middle of the dirt floor, clad in nothing more than a cloth covering her modesty and a metal breast plate that barely hid anything. Her skin was caked with blood and grime, the color of her blonde hair almost indistinguishable. Tonight, she had fought her way up the ranks - eight other woman killed at the end of her blade. She had one more to go.

The crowd howled when a tall, dark man stood up in the middle of the ring. This is what they had all been waiting for.

"We have seen Alba fight. We have seen Alba kill. We have seen eight unworthy opponents fall under her sword! Now we will see her face our champion!"

The crowd exploded in cheers.

"Enter, Proserpina! Dread Queen of the Underworld! Goddess of death! Sent to the mortal world to bring these poor souls down to the stinking flames of Hell!"

A woman emerged from a dark cell in one of the walls. She wore the same clothes as the blonde, but a silver mask in the likeness of a goddess covered her face. Her dark hair was piled up tall on her head and her bronze skin was covered with oil and scars.

As she entered into the light, she took in her opponent - she was big, taller than most women, and muscular. Proserpina had imagined her frightened - legs trembling and breath ragged. Instead, the long sword was held high in front of her, ready to attack. The Goddess smirked behind the mask. Maybe they have given her a worthy opponent for once.

She approached the man and slightly bowed her head to him. "Behanzin." She used only his name in greeting. He gave her a hard look but she read the emotion clearly in his eyes. Be careful, she felt them say, she is not like the others. The girl nodded her head in response. She then reached into the bag that the man was holding out to her and retrieved a slip of paper.

"The Goddess has chosen war fans!"

The woman was handed her weapons and she held them up above her for the crowd to see. Once again, the people cheered and she made her way to the center of the pit. Flicking her wrists, she began opening and closing the fans, trying to quickly learn the mechanics of them. They were fairly easy to wield, but getting near enough to strike would bring her dangerously close to the other woman's longsword.

Before Proserpina could get in position, the woman lunged towards her with a frightening roar. Hastily, the girl evaded the swing of her sword, rolling away, not being prepared to counterattack. The blonde used the force of the missed blow to pivot back around and charge at her opponent again, missing her once more. The fighter was hasty, too hasty, but she was also strong. The Goddess was considerably smaller, but quicker, and managed to elbow her sharply in the ribs as she ducked under the blade.

The swordswoman grunted in pain but recovered almost immediately. She had learned her lesson. She backed a few paces away from the smaller girl while catching her breath. Proserpina allowed her to do so, just so she could have time to gauge how far she could throw her steel fan. She decided against it - her aim would be far from accurate without the proper practice. But she had to do something soon.

Before she could act, the woman leapt at her again in an attempt to plunge the sword into the girl's abdomen. She tried sidestepping it but was not quick enough and the end of the blade sliced the flesh of her stomach. The distraction allowed the woman time to spin off her front leg and kick the brunette in her temple with the back of her heel. The Goddess's vision blurred as she fell to the ground. The blonde gave her no time to collect herself and, as she stood over her with legs on either side of her body, she attempted to stab her while she was on the floor. Prosperpina rolled her upper body to the side to avoid the blow. The force of the impact to the dirt floor made the sword get momentarily stuck in it. The brunette pushed her pelvis up and kicked the woman in her back, causing her to stumble forward.

Proserpina was ready to finish this.

She rolled back, standing on her hands, then came down quickly to her feet. She turned and charged at the woman, shielding herself from the sword with her open fans. The weapon got caught between the ribs of the fan and the Goddess twisted it out of the woman's grip. She quickly closed them up after the sword fell to the dirt floor and punch the woman in the nose. The weight of the steel fan in her hand added strength to the blow and she felt the bones in the woman's nose collapse under the force.

The blonde staggered back, blood pouring down her face and onto her chest. Proserpina pounced at the woman again, and as she protected her face with her fist in anticipation of another punch, the Goddess lunged down low and brought her open fans up, slicing the woman's stomach with the sharp ends of her weapons. The woman shrieked in pain.

Proserpina used the power from her stance and sprung up and flipped backwards into the air. Her foot connected under the woman's chin and sent her flying up and then onto the ground with a hard thud. Unfortunately, the flip caused the wound in the brunette's side to open more and blood was now coursing down her hip and leg.

"KILL HER!" she heard from the crowd.

The blonde scrambled to get up, but was still without her weapon. Proserpina attacked again. The larger woman managed to block her punches until the Goddess's left fist connected hard with her chin. Without losing a second, she plunged the sharp tip of her right closed fan into the woman's stomach. She doubled over and held her hands over her wound, but the blood continued to pour out of her body. She looked up at the masked figure of Proserpina in front of her. The woman flicked open her fans with a loud pop. With a lightening fast swipe of her weapon, she slit the woman's throat wide open.

Only now did Proserpina once again her the roar of the crowd around her. Only now did she once again smell the blood and dirt and filth around her. She looked at the people cheering and booing. She approached Behanzin where he had observed the fight.

"Once again, our champion, Proserpina, Queen of the Underworld!"

She turned and popped her fans out once more, raising them, then bowing low to the crowd.

"How is your side?" Behanzin asked her while the people around the pit either collected their money or paid their dues.

"It is but a flesh wound. I will live," the woman responded behind her mask.

"The fighters get better every week."

"Of course - she is a sister. It pained me to end her life."

The man furrowed his brow in confusion.

"She bares the mark of an Amazon," Proserpina explained to him.

Behanzin nodded his head in understanding and the girl walked back to the cell, thoughtlessly rubbing the black mark on the back of her shoulder.

-X-x-X-

"An impressive display! She is well received, Calvus," the man said, looking around him.

"Yes, yes. The best investment I have made in years," the older man told his companion. "But these winnings will soon not be able to hold me over. I am still in debt, and that is a dangerous thing."

The younger man looked at his friend thoughtfully and smiled. "That is exactly why I came to make offer."

Batiatus clasped a hand on the man's shoulder and lead him away to a quieter place so that they could strike up a deal.