The raven-haired warrior groggily opened her azure eyes in a daze, confused on where she was. She attempted to sit up but immediately noticed that ropes and bindings restricted her movement, almost completely leaving her immobilized. She gave her intertwining leather and rope bindings a hard tug, testing them for any weaknesses. Shit, she thought, this guy is an expert. Xena then looked at her surroundings to begin planning her actions to ensure an escape. She was laid down by a small campfire, and it seemed that it was deep in the forest since the tree line was so dense. Her sword and chakram were tied together and peeking through the cover of a large bag, just out of her reach. Xena realized that she was just in her leathers, with her protective bronze breastplate and bracers removed. She took a deep breath and squeezed her breasts together, hoping that the force would push her hidden breast dagger out.
Suddenly, there was a figure standing over Xena. The lean-muscled blonde slowly crouched over Xena, examining her with childish curiosity. Her hair was wild and almost white. Her tanned skin gleamed with a sheen layer of sweat, the result of working on her weapon drills. She wore black armor that exposed her midriff and most of her legs. The only properly protected area were her shoulders, where layered shoulder pads rested. She looked down at Xena with a childish excitement in her wide brown eyes.
"Good morning, dearie" the blonde said with a toothy, devious smile. "Looking for this?" She held up the bronze breast dagger, swinging it back and forth, taunting Xena.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Xena asked through clenched teeth while slyly attempting to free her hands.
"You, my dear, disappoint me. I took down the great Warrior Princess with a single poison dart. Hmm…you gotta admit though, I am very skilled." She stated while examining the petite dagger, turning it over in her hand. "Why wouldn't I be? You made me after all." The blonde chided with her eerie smile plastered on her face.
Xena was lost on what the blonde meant when she said that Xena made her. However, she kept a straight face to avoid showing any confusion.
"Oops, silly me, we haven't been properly introduced…my name is Callisto." She said playfully through her devilish grin. "You murdered my entire family in cold blood at Cirra. You burned them alive in the family barn. I could still hear the screams of my mother and kid sister in my head as they were suffering at your hands."
"I never killed women or children, I always told my men they were off-limits. Cirra was a mistake." Xena replied.
"Oh yes. The Destroyer of Nations, the ever so bloodthirsty Warrior Princess is too weak to kill anyone but men." Callisto scoffed in disgust, "Don't worry dear, you'll get your fill of battle and gore soon enough…when I hand you over to the royal ludus as a gift for the Empress." She giggled insanely "I can't wait to see you in the arena, fighting to survive against an onslaught of enemies."
"I can't wait until these bindings are off so I can wrap my hands around your thin little neck, you little bitch." Xena spat, angered at the thought that someone had the audacity to believe they could break her, the legendary Warrior Princess, into becoming a mere slave to a worthless noble.
"Ooh, kinky, I like it rough." Callisto responded in a sultry tone as she winked. She quickly stood up and started breaking down camp. After the fire was extinguished, she saddled up her black horse. She expertly tied a rope to the horn of the saddle and around Xena's fists, roughly tugging on the rope for dramatic effect. She cut the ropes around Xena's feet so she could walk behind the horse with ease. Xena saw a chance of escape, quickly kicking forward, trying to stun her captor, but Callisto saw her actions coming from a mile away, casually catching her foot with one bony hand and holding it there. "Oh, what a bad girl." She smiled again, with her chocolate eyes piercing into the warrior's blue. She tugged Xena up on her feet, still staring at her.
"Let's go princess, we have a long way ahead of us." Callisto stated as she turned around and mounted her horse, nudging it forward into a walk.
Escape is going to be a lot harder than I thought, Xena observed as she inspected the complicated bindings interwoven around her wrists and arms that were dragging her forward to match the speed of the horse.
After what seemed like weeks of non-stop walking, they finally reached the city walls of the shithole called Rome. The exhausted Warrior Princess was barely able to stand, dragging her heavily damaged boots, unable to pick up her feet. Her captor, on the other hand, seemed to burst with energy. "Wow, I made it here in record time from Thrace. I hope the walk wasn't too much for the legendary Warrior Princess to handle." Callisto laughed sarcastically as she glanced back at Xena's beaten and rough figure beginning to slump over. The warrior's hands and arms were raw at how tight and rough the bindings were on her. She was completely and utterly exhausted, barely given anything to eat or drink, which was a wise decision on her captor's part seeing as she had no energy to fight Callisto whenever they made camp. She was sure her feet were blistered and bloodied. She must have looked like one of the savage Horde girls, with a dirty, beaten face and wildly unkempt hair.
"Woah." Callisto ordered the horse to halt before the royal guards on duty near the city walls. "I brought a present for her highness, I'm sure she's going to love it." she purred, smiling at the nearest guard.
The guard shifted to look behind the horse and laid his eyes on Xena. With a smirk, he shouted "Let them pass!" He grinned as he lewdly looked at Xena, his eyes never leaving her body. Xena ignored the gesture that so many men before him had done towards her. She was tugged forward by Callisto, now trudging through the streets of the capital. Hmm, so this is what the Roman Empire has deteriorated to, Xena thought, looking at her surroundings to map out her escape route. The mercenary and her bounty made their way through the thick crowd of people, gaping and staring at the legendary Warrior Princess. Callisto, still on her horse, led Xena through the busy, over-crowded market place, constantly tugging at the rope to make sure Xena would keep up. A group of six guards marched through, nodding at Callisto, and continuing their rounds through the city. The market place was speckled with various merchants selling exotic spices and foods at their stands. Some stands offered weapons, others were filled with novelty items and trinkets. However, no one was looking at the goods for sale. The citizens all kept their eyes on her, piquing their interest. While mapping out her route, she couldn't concentrate with the people beginning to crowd around her and yell obscenities. Xena had enough of the gawking, letting out an animalistic snarl to startle the onlookers away. It startled most of them off, silencing the crowd, but those a distance away kept watching her with fire in their eyes.
When they finally reached the palace, Callisto dismounted her mare, now dragging Xena herself towards the gates. The palace guards kept their eyes on her, never giving Xena a chance of surprise attack.
"Open the gates! The Thracian Whore is here!" one of the men snarled, his upper lip curling in anger.
"C'mon now, my sweet…there are people who are just dying to meet you." Callisto taunted as she pulled Xena in front of her and pushed her forward. Four guards flanked either side of Callisto, offering her protection if the Destroyer of Nations ever felt like lashing out. They walked on and on through the palace until they reached the center of the royal chamber. It was a great hall made of marble with innately carved wooden benches facing a single, throne. On the walls were exquisitely embroidered green banners with an insignia of a golden lion. The throne that sat on the top of the low marble staircase was ornately designed; it was made of gold, carved with designs of leaves and vines, twirling around the frame and meeting at the top of the throne to wrap around an emerald. The roof was filled with frescoes depicting all the Olympian gods in battle. There was Artemis with her bow drawn back, aimed at a fleeing soldier. Ares was poised with fire in his hands. Athena was throwing a javelin through a line of men. Zeus hurled thunderbolts over to a group of cavalry. Apollo was depicted setting everything ablaze while Aphrodite accompanied Hephaestus on a chariot. Hermes let go of a soldier as he flew high above the ground. Well, well, isn't this ideal décor to welcome guests, Xena mentally remarked in sarcasm.
After what seemed like an eternity, the expected figure finally entered the grand hall. The Empress walked with a great sense of dignity and held her chin high. She wore a simple gold floral circlet placed gently on her blonde head. She sported an ornately decorated breastplate over a simple red gown that hugged her body's curves and covered her neck up to her chin with leather boots peeking out from under. On her hip was a jeweled longsword, with a dagger peeking from around her back. Though she was scowling, she held a unique beauty. Her face was fair, with intense green eyes and beautifully shaped pink lips.
"What do you want Callisto?" The Empress glared at her with stormy green eyes, "I don't appreciate you wasting my time. I hope you're aware that this nation doesn't run itself." She stated in a stern voice.
"Oh no, Empress. Actually, I brought you a present that I think you'll thoroughly enjoy. The Warrior Princess herself." Callisto smiled, knowing that she would get rewarded immensely later.
The Empress shifted her gaze to the warrior, who stared straight back at her with icy blue orbs. She casually strode over and roughly grabbed Xena's face, cocking her head from side to side, inspecting her like she was some circus animal. Xena kept her poker face on, despite the immense rage she was experiencing. The blonde ruler circled Xena, eyeing her up and down, examining her new gift thoroughly.
"So this is the Destroyer of Nations," The blonde royal remarked "Interesting."
"In the flesh." Callisto replied while nodding her head
"Hmm. She seems strong…powerful. She would do well in the ludus for the upcoming games."
The Empress stood in front of Xena yet again. She grabbed the warriors chin and looked intensely at her azure eyes. By this time, Xena had enough of this treatment. She kept her face stoic, not giving away any hints about her next action. With a snarl, she quickly threw her head back and brought it forward hard, meeting her forehead with that of the Empress. The Empress staggered back, clutching her bleeding wound just below her hairline. The guards all came around Xena, holding her back while she thrashed, attempting to attack everyone surrounding her. Those emerald green eyes were furious and burning with rage as she quickly moved to Xena and backhanded her with all her strength. The warrior fell to the ground from the force and felt the sting on her mouth, aware that she was bleeding.
"Send her straight to the dungeons until she can behave like a proper slave! I will not have a wild animal in my palace." The Empress commanded the guards as she stared into Xena's eyes.
"Isn't it sad that the great Destroyer of Nations has been demoted to a mere slave. All because you lost your army to your second in command. I almost feel sorry for you. Almost." Callisto said as she picked up the warrior by her arm roughly. The guards came over and restrained her, all pointing weapons to her body.
Callisto and the guards went through one of the obscure side doors of the hall, descending down a narrow staircase until they reached a heavily reinforced wooden door on the bottom level. They escorted the warrior through the path to the dirty and horrid smelling dungeon where at least ten other cells were. The guards opened the door and dragged Xena through a damp, dark cell, throwing her against the wall and shackling her ankles and wrists to the wall.
"I'll kill you all for this!" the Warrior Princess snarled as she tugged at her restraints with all her force. "I promise you. I will hunt every single one of you down." She looked at every face, instilling fear in all except one.
"I would like to see you try, Warrior Princess" Callisto smirked a she walked out, the door swinging heavily behind her and locking with a thud.
The dungeon cell was dark, and the rusted iron shackles restraining Xena's raw bloody wrists and ankles were too strong to break through, as she had concluded hours before. She could feel her consciousness slipping from her slowly but surely. Her throat was parched, burning with the need for water. When she was just about to slip into the darkness of unconsciousness, she heard the outer door unlatch, and footsteps. Two people. Her cell door opened and a bowl of gruel and bread was thrown at her feet, just out of her reach. A goblet of water was slid in her direction, landing by her hands. She wriggled and stretched out so she could bring the bowl closer to her. When she could reach the bowl with her hands, she grabbed the bowl and quickly polished the bland, tasteless substance. For the first time in weeks, she had been somewhat fed. She chugged the water that was given to her, finally quenching her insatiable thirst. However, she quickly felt odd, her depth perception was wavering and the walls were spinning, her vision was beginning to blur. Damn it, I should have known. She relentlessly fought the symptoms, struggling to maintain her consciousness. However, Xena suddenly lost consciousness, the drugged concoction too strong for her, and finally succumbing to the darkness of sleep.
Groggily, Xena opened her eyes. She awoke to the view of the strands of her hair caressing the floor. She found herself suspended upside down with her feet tied bound together and strung up to a pulley system that was anchored to the stone walls of the new chamber she was placed in. Her leather bodice was gone, replaced by cloth wrappings on her chest and between her legs. Her hands were untied and hanging below her head, scraping against the floor. She looked around, observing her surroundings. In the dark, torch lit compact room were signs of suffering. There were various tools and structures that signified signs of torture. Dried blood was splattered and caked on the walls, especially where the shackles anchored on the wall across from her. She heard the clumsy thumping of three guards making their way to the door.
"We're going to have some fun with this Thracian bitch." Xena heard the vocal echo of a guard attempting to brag.
She knew what was coming. She knew what occurred in the depths of the Empress's dungeons. Everyone knew the horrid things the royal guards would happily inflict on whoever was unlucky enough to end up in the darkest parts of the castle. The guards stomped through the doorway with a smirk plastered on their faces. One man gently set down a leather satchel on a corner table and started taking out its contents. Slowly, one by one, he took out salt, a set of knives, large needles, and unfurled the whip that rested on his hip. His two companions were circling Xena and began messing with her. One pushed her, causing her to swing back and forth, scraping her hands against the floor. The other stopped the motion by yanking a fistful of her hair, making her contract her stomach to lean towards him. She looked him deep in the pools of his eyes, searing his face into her mind. She had already begun a list of the people she would kill from this experience…starting with the blonde whore Callisto. He was just another addition, another unnamed little shit taking orders.
"Lets get started then. I'm going to take pleasure in making you scream, whore."
The guard walked over to the table of tools and wrapped his fingers around the whip that lay there. He took it in his hand, carefully inspecting it, praising the craftsmanship of the leather intertwined with the small iron pieces at the ends. He took a step back and quickly lunged his arm forward, bringing the whip in contact with Xena's skin. Xena gritted her teeth at the sensation of the sting accompanied by the blossoming of dull pain. She wouldn't scream out. She wouldn't dare give him the pleasure. Xena could feel her flesh break with each contact of iron and leather, it felt like her skin was coming off in ribbons. When he figured out the Warrior Princess tightly clasped her mouth to refrain from making a sound, he kept lashing out on and on, frustrated that Xena refused to give him the pleasure of audible agony. After the twentieth lash, he retired from the duty of torturer and let one of his companions take over. The new guard unsheathed his dagger from his belt and started making incisions along Xena's body. He walked around her, dragging the blade across her body. He made small nicks along her face, then pressed harder as he continued his way to her legs, leaving crimson trails of blood as he went on. He turned away so the guard that was unpacking everything could have his turn. He began beating her, using gauntlets equipped with iron plated knuckles. He kicked with boots containing steel reinforcements on the toes. By this time, Xena had forced her mind to escape from her body. She focused in a crack on the wall and stared into it until she was in a different place. Her mind ignored the physical pain while she began focusing on calling out to Ares. With each blow, her mind called louder and louder, until her mind was screaming with abandon…yet there was no answer. The God of War did not answer her call, he did not materialize in front of her, he did not come to the rescue of his chosen.
Her mind began returning to her body once she realized he was never going to save her from this tartarus on earth. She tried to ignore the blows, but they've become much more difficult to brush off. The sharp pain that accompanied her breathing signified that at least two ribs were broken. She was still attempting to focus on the crack in the wall, but she realized that one eye was too swollen to see out of. She focused on the crack with all her power in an attempt to leave her body yet again. However, the heavy wooden door of the dungeon swung open, breaking her concentration. Xena painfully twisted her body to see Callisto standing there with her usual smirk. The guards immediately stopped their task of torture and stood at attention facing Callisto as a sign of respect.
"How's it hanging, dearie?" She giggled, looking past the guards that were standing still as statues.
Xena had attempted an obscene gesture but she realized her energy had left her and her body was in too much pain to attempt moving for such an insignificant act. All she managed was to to spit at Callisto's general direction. Xena noted that a substantial amount of blood and one of those good chewing teeth accompanied her saliva. She came to the realization she was bleeding internally, which was never a good sign.
"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" Callisto began looking at her up and down "Looking kinda rough there, my princess."
"I've been through worse. These are mere flesh wounds. I'm not yours, and I'm definetly not The Empress's. No one will ever own me." Xena spat back, managing a sly smirk to save face.
"We'll see dear. Have fun with your new friends." Callisto replied while blowing her a kiss and turning to exit the room.
Xena took her chance and reached for the dagger in front of her that rested on the guard's belt. She grasped the weapon and threw it cutting the rope that bound her blistered feet and landing on the wall near the anchor that held the rope's pulley system. She quietly landed on her feet as she fell and quickly stood behind the guard that she stole the dagger from and twisted his neck in her hands. Xena relished the sound and feeling of his neck breaking underneath her grip. She grabbed the sword on his belt and turned to stab the other unsuspecting guard in the abdomen. She pulled the man off the sword by placing a foot on his torso and pushing him away with what strength she had left. She twirled the sword in her hand and threw it at the final guard, catching him square in the chest. Xena killed all three men before Callisto had time to notice what was going on. She grabbed one of the knives on the table and caught Callisto right before she turned around. With a dagger to her delicate throat, Callisto began to laugh.
"C'mon Xena, do you actually think you have the energy to escape this castle, much less fight me?" She batted her eyelashes "You don't have the strength to harm this pretty little blonde."
"Oh, I don't plan on fighting you 'dearie', I plan on killing you right here and now." Xena said through her teeth and pressing the knife harder on the blonde's artery, drawing blood.
"Oh really? I would like to see you try." Callisto's childish attitude suddenly dropped, her voice signified that she was getting serious. Callisto quickly struck Xena with a closed fist to the face, catching her off guard and escaping her grasp. She quickly pulled her silver dagger from its place on the side of her battleskirt and faced Xena. Xena quickly got up and assumed a fighting stance, crouching, ready to pounce whenever Callisto showed an opening, gripping the knife hard in her hands. Callisto shifted, about to charge for an attack when guards burst through the entrance of the dungeon and began swarming the hall.
"Looks like playtime is over." Callisto licked her lips. "Now you're really going to have fun with even newer playmates."
Xena knew when to choose her battles. She spat again on the floor near Callisto's feet and threw the knife, embedding it in the stone wall right by Callisto's head. The guards tackled her, one holding each limb while simultaneously dragging her back into the room. They roughly threw her down on the floor and against the wall, shackling her securely by cuffing her wrists and ankles.
"Two of you stay here. You can either continue what the others were doing or just guard the door. I wouldn't like the little birdie to fly away." She winked at Xena "The rest of you get these bodies out of here."
The two guards turned to her with sneers plastered on her face. One was a brute, big in size while the other was of average build. "Ooh, girl, we're going to have fun with you." The average one remarked while grabbing the salt bag and emptying its contents on her, stinging every cut and area of broken skin she suffered. The bigger guard took a step back and gave a swift kick to her head, and she began losing consciousness again.
"That was for my friend, you bitch. That guard whose neck you broke? His name was Perdicus. Remember the name, you cunt. I hope it remains in your mind forever." The guard raised his voice in anger as the darkness consumed her.
Xena awoke in the dark chamber yet again. She could not tell how long she had been there. She did not know whether the sun stood blazing proudly in the sky or if the moon caressed the city in the night. Her arms were shackled above her and she let her head hang, her hair covering her face. Her pain was beyond belief. Her throat was parched, burning in a plea for the smallest amount of water. Her ribs were untreated and it hurt her to breathe in deeply. Her skin stung but the wounds had closed due to the drying effects of the salt. She heard six pairs of feet shuffling towards her direction from the down the hall. The group reached their destination and the door was unlocked. The door slowly swung open and she stood there. The Empress with her stone-like mask never took her eyes off Xena. Her elegant dress clashing with the grimy chamber. She walked towards her slowly, boots echoing through the emptiness of the room. She kneeled in front of Xena and lifted her chin so she could face her. Xena let out a sigh, closing her eyes and resting the weight of her head against the touch such a delicate yet firm hand. Xena opened her eyes to see the blonde looked deeply into those sapphire pools and tucked the hair from out of her face behind her ear. Xena swore that those emerald eyes gleamed with a sadness for just a split second before they hardened once again, turning into emotionless orbs of jade. Xena was thoroughly puzzled at the actions of the woman before her. Was it a psychological torture to caress me with a strong yet gentle touch after I had suffered from her hand, even if it was indirectly?
"Free her from these restraints. I'm sure she's learned her lesson. Escort her to the ludus after you get her cleaned up." The Empress stood again, still looking in the warrior's ice blue eyes. She nodded slightly, so that only Xena could notice it and turned her back to her. "And feed her as well. She's been without food for three days." The Empress stalked out of the room without another word.