Here we go again - words on the fast updates: don't get too used to them. I already had the first four chapters fleshed out, I was just tweaking the story here and there to make sure it was something I was satisfied with.
The Reaper rolled backwards into the sand as she narrowly avoided the axe falling on to her head. Her shield remained on her arm as she raised it just in time to block the sword of her opponent's partner.
She could feel her heat beat loudly in her ears, as she made herself as flat as possible on the ground to avoid the javelin aimed for her chest that was thrown by her third opponent. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as she cursed the task that was placed before her by her master. It was a spectacle that was meant to be the Reaper's last as she takes a couple weeks of rest from the Arena.
Roman Torchwick would often do this to ensure that the Reaper wasn't over exposed in the Coliseum; it was boring to keep watching a show with the same result over and over again. He would allow other slaves and gladiators to gain some fame and reputation. And once they were on the verge of becoming 'the best', he would send his slave in to once again establish dominance as the true Champion of the Arena.
Quickly she stood to her feet, Ruby's shield was heavy and her sword hand ached as the three opponents surrounded her. Sweat rolled down her face, but she had no time to wipe it away as the one wielding the axe decided to charge in on her right flank, the hairs on her neck stood up straight as she sensed an impeding second strike coming from behind.
On reflex, Ruby rolled forward towards the man who tried to skewer her with a javelin, her right arm raised as it absorbed the blow of the axe. The head of the axe was effectively buried into the shield of the Reaper as the man tried to no avail to wedge it out, simultaneously Ruby buried the gladius in hand all the way to the hilt into the stomach of the poor soul who had the gall to throw a javelin at her just seconds earlier. She heard the sword bearer who tried to strike her back fall into the dirt as his sword missed it's mark.
She twist the hilt of the weapon in the gut of her opponent. His warm life blood began to leak all over her arm once she had done so, she heard a cry of the man's name from the axe wielder as he tried once more to retrieve the weapon stuck on her shield.
The Reaper didn't allow it to happen as she twisted her shield to dislodge the hilt of the axe from the man. The sword bearer who tried to attack her earlier scrambled to his feet, once again he raised his sword with the intention to slam it down on to the Reaper's head.
With the javelin thrower still attached to her sword, she fell on to her back to allow his body to cover her.
"You bitch!" The sword wielder yelled as his blade was met with the back of his partner.
The smaller gladiator rolled to the side and dislodged her sword from the now dead man. Blood was smattered across the Reaper's armor and face as some of it began to mix with her sweat. The now disarmed axe wielder took a couple steps back to get out of range of the Reaper's gladius. She stood to one knee as she raised her shield to block yet another strike from the sword wielder, before he could strike a second time, the Reaper lunged forward to knock the man to ground.
Without skipping a beat, she threw her gladius at the disarmed opponent. A smirk grew on her face as she saw the blade bury itself into the thigh of her opponent. The man who originally held the axe now fell to the ground clutching his leg as he began to scream in pain.
The sword wielder's eyes glowed with hatred as he saw his second friend get injured by her. He was quick to retaliate as his anger and wrath filled his very being, he figured his opponent, who was without her gladius, is now an easy target.
With her left hand Ruby grabbed the hilt of the axe that was buried in her shield, with all her might, with the shield still attached, she swung the blunt side of the axe head into her attacking opponents face. Her shield managed to get dislodged from the axe as it fell to the ground, a large hole could be seen in the center. The force was enough to visibly smash in the attacker's cheek, the gladiator could have sworn she saw a tooth fly out from the man's mouth. With her attacker down on the ground, Ruby grabbed her shield with both hands as she straddled the disoriented man.
With both arms, she brought the edge of the shield down on his neck.
A satisfying crunch could be heard as a gush of red erupted from the man's mouth, the warm liquid bubbled a bit and the Reaper could only guess that he had finally died.
A thunderous commendation erupted throughout the coliseum.
Ruby dropped the shield off to the side as it was now ruined with the hole from the axe. She turned her attention back to her gladius she had thrown earlier, the man laid panting on the sand with the sword still stuck in his leg.
The Reaper placed a foot on axe wielder's hip so that she could swiftly pull out the sword from his leg.
A deafening scream as blood began to pump freely from his thigh, from what Ruby had learned about medicine from Miltiades, there was supposed to be major vein in one's thigh.
With a flourish, a splatter of blood fell from the gladius and made a pattern on the sand.
She looked up towards the marble stand with her sword drawn. Roman Torchwick smirked as he passed judgment down on her remaining opponent.
The Reaper complied by slicing off the man's head.
She could hear the name Reaper being echoed in the stands, she could see bouquets of roses being tossed into the arena, empty cups, empty casks of wine, and even random articles of clothing.
The gladiator stepped around to face different sections of the arena with her sword held high.
The blood of her opponents ran down her face and armor.
Ruby ran her free hand across her face to wipe the sweat and blood from her eyes, her fingers stopped to graze the soft scar on her cheek. It had been nearly a month since Ruby had received this scar from Neptune.
Light blue eyes watched from the marble stands. Despite the jovial cheers and the sea of people who chanted her namesake of Reaper - she couldn't help but notice how lonely the gladiator looked.
It was almost as if Weiss was looking in the mirror and saw her own reflection.
"Quiet the guest you have brought along today." Roman mused as he greeted his guests at the entrance of his villa.
"Roman!" Jacques greeted his friend, "I figured you wouldn't mind so much for the extra company I brought along."
There stood a rather well known figure through out of Mistral, a hero bred from a long line of famed fighters and gladiators. Said hero had grown even more in notoriety for her participation in the gladiator games of the arena. Before she went off to join the war to fight off the Valesian from the Anima continent, she was hailed as the Champion of the Arena.
Commander Pyrrha Nikos stood dressed in loose robes of maroon and gold, her famed sword hung at her hip.
"Lord Torchwick," Pyrrha greeted, "It has been a while, my father sends his regards. He still has the tapestry you gave to him on his birthday all those years ago."
"Lady Nikos!" Roman cordially greeted, "I hope all was well on the front lines, I'm glad to see you back safely."
"Thank you, I hope you don't mind me showing up so unexpectedly. When I heard that the Shield of Vale was a gladiator for the Lord Schnee, I couldn't help but come over to meet with Commander Arc." Pyrrha began as the group was invited into the Villa. "Jacques and Weiss were kind enough to allow me to come along when they mentioned they were coming here."
"Apparently, Commander Arc was a formidable foe on the front lines." Weiss filled in as they were led to outdoors to the viewing area of the courtyard. The slaver Neo was dressed in her brown breeches and white tunic, a sword was at her hip with a whip in hand.
Pyrrha nodded, "As one soldier to another, I have the utmost respect for him." She frowned a bit, "It's a shame that he has been taken as a prisoner of war and now fights as a gladiator."
"Tis the law of the land, Lady Nikos." Roman pointed out as he took a seat with a cup of wine in hand, one of the house slaves offered wine to the guests who gladly took it. "He could have been killed on the battlefield or taken alive as a prisoner of war and slave. If you ask me, I'd much rather live to fight another day."
"I suppose so." Pyrrha sighed, "But I will say that I am advocating with my father to release our prisoners of this war back to their home in Vale. And in kind, negotiate that Vale do the same with our soldiers that were taken." Pyrrha's father, Councilman Atreus Nikos, sat on the King's Council of Mistral – the man was one of three of these influential figures. Since the beginning of Mistral's history, the three positions were appointed as such: One would be appointed by the Society of Scholars, the second appointed by the People, and the third appointed by the King himself. Councilman Atreus was a well-known Commander for Mistral's army and dabbled in the Arena during his youth.
"What makes you think they would negotiate now?" Torchwick absorbed the valuable information; the Council would easily agree to the request should the Vale and Mistral enter peace negotiations.
The champion smiled, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I was needed on the frontlines any more."
"Vale has set up a defensive around their kingdom, war advisors are estimating that it'll be a few more short months before the Valesians concedes. They couldn't even stop the Mistrali offensive once we landed back on the island of Vytal." Jacques smirked into his cup.
"I see, thank you for that." Roman smiled as he observed his gladiators in training.
"I see that Bolin still around." Pyrrha commented, "What of your previous gladiators?"
Roman smiled, "I'm happy to say that a few have found freedom. The others, well, they found eternal glory in the Coliseum."
"Your family is quite famous for having the best gladiators." Pyrrha said as she brought the cup of wine to her lips, "This wine is delicious."
Ruby glanced over to the patio where Torchwick and the other nobles sat. Once again, those light blue eyes that she had dreamed about nearly every night was back in her vision. Her prim and proper appearance added to her charm, as if she were royalty. She didn't recognize who the red head was.
"Who is that?" Ruby asked as she sat up against the wall in the shade, she had just finished her bout of exercises that Neo prescribed them to do.
"I thought you would know her since you were a scout in the army." Sun had taken off his tunic as his chest glistened with sweat. The heat and humidity would soon settle in for the summer season.
"I was assigned to a small company to begin with, not to mention I was barely in the war for a couple months by the time I was captured." Ruby responded, she noticed the slaver take note of the two, but left them alone as they had put in good work in the arena the day prior.
Sun chuckled, "That is Pyrrha Nikos, she was considered the Champion of the Arena prior to the war. Her family has a history of famed gladiators and fighters in the midst, so it makes sense that her family have a relationship with the Torchwick's – cultivator of gladiators."
The conversation was interrupted once Neo stood over the two, quickly the slaves scrambled to their feet. The slaver looked to Sun and handed him a wooden sword, she motioned to Neptune and a couple other gladiator prospects that were training. Sun knew that she wanted him to teach them and walk them through their sword movements.
Neo motioned Ruby to the center of the courtyard.
"Red, if you will, our guest wishes to watch you fight." Roman motioned to her opponent, the man before her was Bolin Hori, Roman's most senior gladiator. Torchwick had promised the much older gladiator his freedom if he wins enough gold to pay back a debt.
The bar had been set at 30,000 gold lien.
Ruby wasn't sure how much more the man had to earn.
"Ruby." Bolin greeted as he had a wooden sword drawn.
"Bolin." Ruby responded in kind as she held up the sword.
Weiss was absolutely mesmerized by the swordplay. She finally understood what Torchwick meant that the Reaper's fighting style was beautiful, elegant, and agile. Bolin's fighting style focused on strong and precise strikes, he would pressure Ruby with a fierce combination every so often.
The young gladiator would often be forced to retreat away whenever this happened. Usually she would follow up with her own combination as well in order to put the pressure back on to Bolin.
"Absolutely beautiful." Pyrrha remarked, "I can see how the Reaper's victory yesterday was no coincidence, she's talented indeed."
The whole courtyard soon paused to watch the fight take place between some of the best that Roman had. Usually, Neo would spread out the more experienced gladiators with the less experienced ones in order to help them grow. Of the 25 total in Roman's inventory, only about a third of that has had actual arena experience. Despite Torchwick's laid back and easygoing demeanor, he ran a tight ship when it came to allowing his gladiators fight.
He was a perfectionist of the sort, as he knew that he had to uphold the honor of the Torchwick name, a name famed for not only their lavish parties but their vicious gladiators as well.
Except for the time with Ruby, the Reaper herself was a bit of a special case.
Bolin's heavy strike was barely held back by Ruby's block, she took a couple steps backwards under the sheer pressure of his sword lock. A second hand was placed on the flat of the blade to help withstand his over bearing strength. Bolin was beginning to tower over her and Ruby's own strength was beginning to falter.
With a final push, the two tumbled to the ground.
Bolin's blade tip was at Ruby's throat.
"A draw." Jacques mused as he took another sip of his wine.
Bolin looked down and saw Ruby's blade poised at his gut.
Pyrrha stood and walked to the courtyard as the two gladiators untangled themselves from the mess on the ground. Bolin offered a hand to Ruby to help the girl up on to her feet. Ruby complied as she straightened herself up, quickly the two slaves assumed a meek position as Pyrrha approached the two.
"No please, raise your heads." Her green eyes were welcoming as she extended her hand, "You're both fine gladiators." Bolin was the first to shake it, "Glad to see your swordplay hasn't gotten rusty in the slightest."
"Thank you, Lady Nikos." Bolin bowed his head humbly, "Our match together all those years ago is still one of my favorites."
"And you, they call you the Reaper." Pyrrha turned her attention to the shorter girl, "You're tenacious and the way you fight is steadfast, I've never seen anything like it before. What's your real name?"
"Thank you." Ruby shook the Mistrali Champion's hand, she looked over at Torchwick for confirmation.
"Go ahead Red, tell them your real name." Roman encouraged, if memory served him correctly, she was just a small time scout in the army.
"Ruby Rose."
Weiss raised a brow; she never even bothered to ask the gladiator her proper name during the party a month ago.
"You're a great fighter, Ruby." The Mistrali Commander, "Thank you for your performance."
"You're welcome, Lady Nikos." Ruby smiled as she warmly took to the commander, like Bolin she bowed her head to the Champion.
"Well enough of a break, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to have my gladiators resume training." Roman commanded as he motioned for Neo to continue with her duties.
"Of course not." Jacques mentioned, "If you wouldn't mind Roman, I'd like to try to win back some of my lien from our game of cards the other night."
"Not at all Jacque, I have a deck in the parlor upstairs. I don't know if you've seen the view from the balcony, you can see the lake that's about a quarter mile down the road." Roman stood as he motioned for the older gentleman to follow. "When is it that you're going back to Atlas?"
"Next week, I believe my dear Weiss to be more than capable to handle things here in Mistral. She already set up a major trade deal with Coco Adel, fine Mistrali silk and cloth to be sent to the northern continent in exchange for some dust ores." A proud look could be seen on Jacques face.
"You have an older daughter, if memory serves correctly." Roman looked over to Weiss, "I remember Weiss mentioning that she knows her way around the sword."
Jacques paused, ever so briefly, a rather cross look flashed over his eyes, but just as quickly it was gone, "Ah yes, Winter – she's a Commander now in the Altesian Army."
"A good and honorable profession she is in." Torchwick left the conversation at that as he had seen the way his friend's eyes lit up at the mention of his eldest. "Please let Neo or anyone else know if you need anything, you're both very important guests to me." The slave master was cordial to the two.
"Thank you, and we will if we do." Weiss nodded to her business partner
Ruby watched as her master walked off, she glanced over at Weiss who wore her hair in a loose up do to accommodate the Mistrali heat; the summer months were upon the Kingdom.
The young gladiator sat off in the shade as she drank from a ladle that she grabbed from the water barrel. Bolin sat off to her side as the two relaxed after the tough swordplay they just had.
"You've gotten better Rubes." Bolin complimented as he rubbed a spot on his arm that Ruby's sword had gotten during the fight.
"You make it even more and more difficult." Ruby replied, Bolin had been the one to take Ruby under his wing to teach her how to fight like a gladiator. The man was considered a legend in the arena, as his quest for freedom became a staple to his story to get people flocking to the coliseum.
But now Bolin had a bit of a handicap now a days due an old wound he received to his back over a year ago. From time to time the gladiator would have great difficulty holding a sword, so his arena appearances have drastically decreased. Roman Torchwick didn't want to lose out on Bolin by irritating the injury further, the man had been a great source of income over the years.
Ruby looked up at the sky, "How much more do you have left in that debt to Master Torchwick?"
The older man smiled, "He says he's going to line up a big fight for me. He says if I win it, then my freedom is in the bag."
"Really?" Ruby's eyes went wide, "You're… You're going to be free?" The childlike excitement was evident.
He nodded, "Yeah, the debt will be paid off and my family will no longer be indebted to the Torchwick family." He referred to his mother and sister who lived in the kingdom, his father had taken out a loan from some loan sharks. Bolin's father found himself unable to pay back what he took out… with interest. It was Bolin's luck that his father would skip out on the payments and leave his wife and children behind in the city.
As the story goes, Bolin went to Torchwick for help, and that's how he found himself in this predicament.
"How long have you been here now?" The younger girl asked as she looked at the man.
"6 years now, it'll be great to finally see my mom and sister as a free man." A happy smile was plastered on the man's face. Ruby recalled that every once and a while, (especially after Bolin would have a big win in the arena) Torchwick would allow Bolin's mother and sister to come visit for a day.
The sound of the wooden sword being knocked out of one's hand and onto the ground could be heard, a yelp of pain could be heard as Sun stood over the gladiator prospect.
"Neptune, you can't lose your grip on your sword like that. As soon as you lose your weapon, you're as good as dead in the coliseum." Sun instructed as he offered a hand to the prospect.
A fire ignited in Neptune's eyes.
From what he could remember, his family sold him off to the slavery system. He was only a young child at the time, so his memories of freedom before were always hazy at best. But he was lucky as a tailor bought him for additional help with his shop. His owner was patient and his job was never too demanding or stressful and he grew up well fed and clothed. Neptune always thought that most slaves were treated as such, and grew comfortable with his life style.
However, his complacency got the better of him as he got into a fight at the market with a young man, a free man to be more precise. The young man that Neptune ended up beating up turned out to be the son of the local tax collector.
Needless to say, his tailor master was harassed constantly until he ultimately decided to get rid of Neptune all together by selling him back to the slave market.
There the slave truly learned what his position in life was.
It was up until 5 months ago that Neptune was sold off again, at a good price of 450 gold lien coins. The average price for a slave was around 300 gold lien coins. Upon his arrival to the Torchwick Villa, it had been absolute hell.
As a gladiator prospect, his training was brutal, as he would be up well before the sun would rise and finished once the food for dinner had already grown cold and soggy. It had been the same thing every day for the past 5 months.
Get up, pick up an 80-pound log, and go out and do various exercises with it. Whether it be walking in circles all day, doing various core works outs while holding it above your head, or being forced to swing it at the training dummy. His whole body ached; his neck had stayed permanently sore from shouldering the weight all day, and his palms and fingers were covered in blisters.
And that was just the morning.
The afternoon consisted of sword training, and that was another special hell as they would constantly do the same motions again and again. If he was going to learn to fight, he wanted to learn to move the way Ruby and Bolin did. He wanted to learn how to roll and dodge the way they do.
He wanted the same privileges that they received!
For Oum's sake, they had their own rooms in the slave compound and even allowed to roam around the courtyard on their own time during the evening and night. And the thing with the bath! How they were allowed to be the first to enter the clean water while Neptune was forced to wait until he got to wash off with the blood and dirt stained liquid. He rarely felt clean.
But instead, he gets to have some Faunus lecture him about the way he holds a sword. The same Faunus that's allowed to even sleep inside the Villa from time to time while Neptune slept in a cell with 3 other slaves on a straw covered floor.
"My grip is just fine, my hands are just tired from my training this morning. Not like you would know anything about that since you didn't even get out of bed until an hour before the afternoon training started!" The gladiator prospect spat loudly.
Ruby and Bolin were quick to stand from where they sat, Sun flicked his eyes over to the two gladiators and shook his head, "Settle down, Neptune. Don't draw too much attention over here." Sun's voice was calm as he nervously looked over at the slaver who was busy ensuring the other gladiator's swordplay forms were sharp.
"I'll settle down when I'm ready! I've been at this shit for 5 months and I'm stuck doing the same damn thing over and over again!" Neptune stood as he looked on into the Faunus' eyes. "While you get to sleep in, while you don't have to carry a fucking log to the lake and back, and while you even get to sleep in the Master's Villa from time to time! What makes you so fucking-"
"Enough!" Roman bellowed from the second floor balcony, "What in Oum's name is going on down there? Who is yelling?" The slave master's eyes were livid - which slave of his would dare act up while he had guests over.
Immediately all action in the courtyard halted.
Ruby bit the inside of her cheek as she looked over the prospect, 'You're about to make everyone's lives hell, newbie.'
Roman looked over the slaves and settled his eyes on Neo; the slaver motioned to Neptune and Sun.
"Wukong, explain." His green eyes were trained on the Faunus, Sun immediately snapped to the position of respect that was ingrained in him since his early days at the Torchwick Villa. His hands were behind his back and his shoulders kept straight.
"Master Torchwick, Neptune is merely tired and has reached his limit for today. I think the heat is getting to his head and has lashed out." Sun explained quickly and clearly.
Torchwick looked over to the blue haired man, "I do believe I over heard something along the lines of some 'unfair' treatment among you." A wicked grin, "Is this true, Neptune?"
"I.. I was only trying –" A crack of a whip cut the prospect off, Neo wore an unreadable expression.
"It's a yes or no question." Sun muttered to the prospect.
"Yes!" Neptune responded quickly.
Ruby locked eyes with Bolin and the two wore uneasy expressions on their faces as they had an idea of what was coming up next.
"Bring up the Four!" Roman exclaimed, Sun headed to the center of the courtyard with Bolin and Ruby right next to him. From the opposite end of the court yard came the final member of this group, Nadir, who was teaching shield and sword techniques to those who had a little bit of experience in the Arena already.
The four stood at the position of respect while in a line together before Torchwick.
"Despite the hard work you have put in around the Villa and in the Arena, your fellow slave believes that you're getting unfair treatment. So being as benevolent as I am, I believe some retribution is in order." The slave master explained, "Nadir the Wilding, what is the punishment for disrupting our holy hours of training?"
The tanned man had his pink locks greased back, he looked to Neptune, his face kept calm as he looked back up towards his master, "It is two lashings from the slaver, Master." He gripped his hands behind his back; everyone currently in that line had received the punishment for disrupting training at least once in their early years of starting at the Villa.
All it ever took was receiving that punishment once and a smart slave would know not to do something like that ever again.
"And since Neptune believes that you have been receiving unfair treatment, I say let's clear the air right here and now. We'll start a fresh slate after we even the score a little. Is that alright with you, Neptune?" Roman's tone was playful, but it had a dangerous undertone to it.
A tone that the four gladiators knew all too well and would try to avoid at all costs.
"Y-Yes." Neptune had only received a lashing once in his life, and it hurt like hell.
"For disrupting training: you, Ruler of the Seas, will receive two lashings from Neo." Neptune's face went pale, he recalled it took a few weeks for his back to heal the last time he was whipped.
He looked over to his Core Four of famed gladiators, "Since you four were the cause of poor Neptune's outburst during the holy hours of training and to settle any grievances about your 'unfair' treatment in the Villa, you each will receive 6 lashings."
Weiss, who had remained silent throughout the exchange, since those slaves were the property of Roman, nearly stood up in her seat. But a strong arm from Pyrrha Nikos kept the merchant in her chair.
"Do not make it worse than it already is." Pyrrha had a sympathetic undertone, her eyes pleaded with Weiss. All the two could do was simply watch as those were Roman's slaves and this was his own home.
'They're slaves… they're supposed to be objects we use… and something we fix when they're not working.' Weiss mentally berated herself with the lessons her father had taught her growing up, 'They're objects.' The merchant took another deep breath before looking over.
'Ruby…' Weiss pleaded silently as she looked over the smallest gladiator.
"You three, set up the chains." Roman commanded a group of prospects, they immediately snapped to the task as they ran to the storage room in the slave compound.
Light blue eyes looked on, the astonishment was clear on her face. The smallest gladiator of the bunch was to receive 6 lashings. Weiss recalled how pleasant the slave's company was during Roman's party. Even if she was ordered to attend to Weiss, Ruby had been pleasant the entire evening… and maybe even caring as she had taken care to ensure Weiss was okay when she had that short dizzy spell.
The gladiator had been gentle to her and to her fellow slave that would have faced certain death if he didn't perform well enough for the crowd.
"This is barbaric." Weiss clenched her jaw as she watched Neo corral the gladiators to the side to await their punishment. The silver eyed slave kept a indifferent expression the entirety of it as the blue haired one looked like he would pass out at any second.
"Do you not whip your slaves in Atlas?" Pyrrha questioned.
Weiss shook her head, "We… We do, I've just never seen it done before with my own eyes. And Father has never resorted to using a whip as the slaves are generally well kept in line."
"I understand your uneasiness, I sympathize with you… We of the Nikos Family don't whip our own slaves - we find other means instead… But it is as Lord Torchwick said before, it is the law of the land." She breathed in deep, "I will hold my tongue from here, and I only ask that you do the same."
Pyrrha could see how uneasy the whole ordeal was for her new friend.
The Champion put a reassuring hand over the merchant's, "I'll be right here with you, we can leave after. I'll say that I wish to show you around the Nikos Villa."
Weiss nodded in appreciation, she felt her gut wretch a bit as the chains were hooked to the wall. She watched as the prospect named Neptune was chained first. His wrists wore the iron hand cuffs and his arms were spread apart as he faced the wall. The other slaves pulled the chains taut, so that if the slave were to lose strength in his legs, he would remain upright still to receive his lashings.
It was quiet, at least until Neptune's cries of pain echoed throughout the courtyard. He didn't expect his legs to give out as the spot of where the whip licked him burned a white-hot fire.
The second crack of the whip only amplified his cries; two long lacerations could be seen on his back. The slaves were quick to let go of the chains and Neptune fell on to his knees. Junior, who was down in the courtyard overseeing the punishment with Neo, grabbed the prospect by the shoulder and dragged the slave face down in the dirt off to the side. There the gladiator prospect withered in pain, attempting to keep his groans of agony to himself.
"If you keep crying like that, I might be inclined to give you one more." Roman mentioned off handedly, he held his cup out to be filled with more wine. Jacques snickered at the blue haired slave who was withering around like a child.
Bolin volunteered to be first; he had removed his tunic and stood stoically in front of the wall. His hands were quickly cuffed and the chains pulled tight. The muscles in his back flexed to their limit.
Neo cracked the whip 6 times, and not once did Bolin mutter a cry. It was on his own feet that he walked over to the side, and despite how red faced he appeared and the sweat that ran down his entire body from the whole ordeal – he stood with his arms crossed as he waited for the other three. He casted a glance over at the prospect who remained face down in the dirt.
Nadir took his lashings in a similar fashion, but a small grunt escaped his lips on the last one. Ruby saw a line of blood falling from the wilding's lips as it became apparent how hard he tried to bite back the screams.
Sun went next and tucked his tail between his legs to avoid further injury. Ruby was close enough to see how tightly shut his eyes were as the whip cracked again and again. She could see how his knees buckled slightly upon the last two lashings.
Once he was released from his chains, he fell to one knee for but a moment. With a deep breathe, he rose steadily to his feet and joined his fellow comrades on the side. Sun casted a side ways glance to Ruby, she could see the remorse in his eyes.
Ruby removed her tunic dutifully as she stepped to the chains, she could see the blood droplets that coated the sand there.
With a final glance at Bolin, Nadir, and Sun; Ruby faced the wall. Junior had to pull the chain length down more to accommodate her shorter stature. The creaking of chains being pulled taught could be heard, Ruby placed both of her hands on the wall.
The first lash left a ringing in her ear.
The second made her back briefly numb.
The third made jaw clench so hard that she thought her teeth would surely crack against the pressure.
Weiss held on to Pyrrha's hand, she was angry at the whole ordeal and she felt powerless to help the silver-eyed gladiator. The three long lacerations began to trickle with blood, she was amazed that the slave had remained standing. How could one who was so helpful and disciplined be subject to this punishment? Ruby did nothing wrong, so why should she be receiving these lashings?
Neo re-adjusted the grip on her whip as she continued on with the last three lashings.
The fourth she let out a strangled breathe of air.
The fifth caused a few tears to leak out from her tightly shut eyes.
And the sixth was enough to bring her to her knees if it weren't for the shackles keeping her upright.
Junior was quick to remove the cuffs – Ruby fell forward as she struggled to think through agony. He was just about to grab the slave and drag her off to the side, but Ruby stopped him as she showed the same conviction as the other three.
With a white knuckled hand on the wall, she stood up. Her back burned in protest at the movement and her throat held on to at least a hundred screams of pain. But she kept the sounds there as she bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted metal in her mouth. Another tear rolled down her face as she stood with the people she considered her brothers.
"You four never cease to amaze me," Roman smiled as he looked over the fresh markings on his slaves, "It's a good thing that we're taking the next month off from the Arena." He waved his hand, "Be sure to look them over in the infirmary, start with Neptune over there, I do believe he has passed out. Neo, continue training the rest of them." He instructed.
"Breathe, Weiss." Pyrrha whispered, the merchant hadn't realized that she had been shaking in anger. "Do not let it show how shaken you are, especially not here – not in front of Lord Torchwick." She waited for the Altesian merchant to settle down.
"Okay, I'm fine now." Weiss cleared her throat with a bit of wine as she took another deep breath. A trained straight face was on the merchant's face, her back straight and her face showed no sign of apprehension what so ever.
"Lord Torchwick," The Champion of Mistral called out to the slave master on the balcony. "I think I'll be taking Weiss here to my Villa. She asked me a question on the history of Mistrali gladiators and I want to show her some of the keepsakes of the Nikos Family."
"Wonderful idea!" Roman agreed, "I do apologize for the whole ordeal, but as you know, the Torchwick Family takes pride in the discipline of our gladiators." A wink and smile was flashed to the two ladies on the first floor.
"It's no problem at all, it is as you said - it is the laws of this land." Weiss returned the smile with a straight face she had developed in her years of business. "And once again, you have reassured me with how well disciplined you're slaves are. Perhaps next time, if I have one attend me again, I will not have to request that they remove their swords."
"Of course! Do tell me what you think of our history! It's fantastic, if you'd like, I could show you some of our memorabilia from the time of my great-great Grandfather." Roman offered cheerfully.
"Perhaps the next time I come visit, we can do that after we discuss some business between us." Weiss threw out as she stood in her chair. She was referring to Torchwick's commission fee on a trade deal he helped to broker with the local market.
The slave master nodded his head, "Til next time then, and you're more than welcome to come back and visit as well Lady Nikos. Give your father my regards." He waved the two off.
Ruby just wanted to grab Neo's whip and simply beat the ever-living shit out of Torchwick.
"How bad are they?" Roman questioned, it was well into the night, Jacques Schnee was well taken care of before the slave master went off to check on his property. He left the Schnee patriarch with his popular blond slave again.
Miltiades looked over the 5 that were currently resting face down in the infirmary. "That blue haired one should be fine in about a week, the other four – probably two weeks before they're able to move freely without opening the wounds."
Roman looked over little Red as she looked peaceful in her sleep, he figured the Malachite medic had fed a sleeping herb to his slaves to help sleep the pain away.
"So they can hold a sword again about two and half weeks then?" His green eyes looked over his best gladiators.
"I would recommend four weeks if you want to avoid possibility of re-opening their wounds." The medic recommended, "I would also like to allow Octavia to stay here and help keep an eye on them, make sure their bandages are changed and that they don't catch a fever."
Octavia was one of Roman's house slaves who had a lot of medical knowledge. Like the rest of the house slaves, she slept in the Villa's underground living quarters.
"I'll allow it then," Roman approached the prospect with blue hair as he lay sleeping, "Did you give him any sleeping aid?"
Miltiades shook her head, "No, I figured you wouldn't want to waste any of that on him. I did give it to the others, not even a Nevermore's shriek should be able to wake them."
"So he has to be awake then." The slave master grabbed the blue hair by a handful and forcefully lifted the slave's head. With a heavy grunt, Neptune looked up at his master as his back screamed in pain at the awkward movement. "You see what you made me do, my little mermaid?" He let go of the hair and Neptune's chin made harsh contact with the table he was laid out on. "Do you understand now? What I want you to do?" Roman continued on as he walked around the prospect. "If you so much as even complain about how things are ran here, it'll be you receiving 6 lashings."
"Yes, Master" Neptune complied as he lay in agony.
Roman smiled as he looked over at his four best, "These are probably some of the best gladiators that the Torchwick family has seen, hopefully they'll heal up nicely."
"Why did you mangle them then?" Miltiades questioned, she had been wondering why her employer had passed such harsh punishment on his best slaves who had nothing to do with the new prospect.
The slave master chuckled, "To show that an outburst by one is considered an outburst by all." He looked back over at the blue haired prospect, "Plus, once those four heal up, they'll give him his special hell – not to mention the other gladiators that look up to the Core Four will probably give the mermaid his extra special treatment too."
"What if the other slaves kill him?" Miltiades questioned.
Roman smiled, "They all should know by now how I feel about my toys breaking, there will be hell to pay."
Neptune shut his eyes as he forced his tears back, he didn't want to leave the infirmary and go back to the compound, he knew how well respected the Core Four were. Hell, even Ruby had even gone so far to ensure he survived the demonstration during the party a month ago. Now he has repaid her kindness with his arrogance.
He had never felt more sorry in his life than he did now.
TigerCritic - I know I've taken quiet the artistic license, I hope you don't mind too much, haha. As I said before, it's a loose inspiration - if anything I wanted to try writing from Ruby's perspective as a hardened slave that has gotten used to the status quo and some how throw a some what twisted White Rose plot into it all. This is probably one of the most fun stories I've had the opportunity to write.
GrnDrgnzrd - Thank you for saying that, I think I'm starting to refine my style of writing a little bit more now. Like they say, practice makes perfect.
Darkerpaths - I actually tried writing Torchwick more like his Spartacus counter-part, I wasn't too pleased with how it turned out. And as I said before, loose inspiration. As far as politics go, I might not be able to live up to those expectations - I guess I'm more of a 'romantic' type of person (adventure, romance, heart break, trial and tribulations, etc.), but there will be some mention of politics through out.
To everyone else who reviewed - thank you so much for taking the time to not only read my story, but to say a few words as well. They're definitely a source of motivation for me (i.e. I've gotten all the way up to chapter 6 written out, just going through some tweaks and edits haha).
Til next time.
Cheers,
DevilRed
