PSA for those who are curious about update timelines: I may not be able to post chapters for a while, real world stuff calls that needs my attention. I will post chapter 5 up for this month.
"You healed up nicely, I don't think you should have to worry about your wounds opening up." Octavia mentioned as she removed the bandages of the gladiator's back.
Ruby hummed, "I've always been this way, I heal up fast for some reason." It had been almost three weeks since they received their lashings.
Initially, neither of the four was able to physically get up from their place in the infirmary, other than to use the bathroom when necessary (and they were put to sleep with the sleeping herb for a majority of it). Slaves from the house were sent over to feed them during meal times as Miltiades recommend that they don't move at all during that first week.
The second week they were allowed to walk around, but had to sleep in the infirmary at night so that Miltiades and Octavia could change their bandages and keep the wound clean.
"How's Neptune doing?" Octavia questioned, she looked over at Nadir whose eyes flashed slightly at the mention of the prospect's name. His bandages were fresh as they had just been changed, the gladiator was waiting for Octavia to finish changing Ruby's bandages so that they could go back to the compound and at least watch the training that took place.
Miltiades forbade either of them from touching a sword until their lacerations healed completely.
Ruby scoffed, "We haven't done anything, the other slaves have been hazing him on a daily basis. They pissed in his porridge the other day and the cook's slave refused to give him another serving."
Octavia frowned, "Are you going to tell the others to cut it out soon? It's been two weeks since he left the infirmary."
"We're going to let it go for another week, once we're able to hold a sword again, I'll tell them to knock it off." Nadir cut in from where he stood, "He needs to learn his place."
"I think he already has since it's been so long." The house slave reasoned, this was one of the biggest differences between the house slaves and the gladiators – the gladiators were quick to eat their own if they didn't conform… But Octavia supposed they had good reason to. Not to mention the house slaves had to learn how to be graceful and to properly attend the honored guests of the Torchwick home – those who were unable to adapt to this lifestyle were often discarded quickly or punished by Torchwick himself.
"He started it and brought us all down." Ruby added as she grabbed her tunic to pull back over her head, "Nadir is right, he needs to learn his place."
She bit her lip at how heartless the comment came out, "I remember when you used to be a bit more reasonable." Octavia smiled softly at the young gladiator.
"That changed quickly." Ruby frowned as she recalled her first night in the Villa once more. By Oum, she hated that man with all her might. You had to conform here if you wanted to survive, play by the rules and life wasn't so hard.
Or at least not as hard as it can be.
Nadir observed the look on his fellow gladiator's face, he knew how much of an… impression, Torchwick had left on Ruby. "Rubes," Nadir called out the nickname as he watched the younger gladiator snap out of her thoughts, "Should we go see what Sun and Bolin are up to?" The wilding assumed that they would be lazing about the underground quarters of the house slaves since it was significantly cooler there and their Master knew that there wasn't much else they could. As long as they remained out of trouble and promptly arrived when called, Torchwick didn't mind what the Core Four did.
They knew the rules well.
The dark haired girl nodded as she stood up to leave the infirmary.
Until Torchwick's most trusted guard walked into the room.
"Is Reaper here still?" Junior's voice echoed through the infirmary, he caught sight of the slave, "Come with me, you've been called."
Ruby nodded to Nadir before following her Master's personal guard to the upper levels of the Villa. The infirmary was located in the slave's compound on the ground level, the two traversed across the courtyard where the slaves trained. In trail of the guard, Ruby went up the stairs to the second floor parlor that oversaw the courtyard, the wide double doors were left open as the view of the lake could easily be seen.
"And like I said, Red is all healed up." Roman motioned to the slave, her bandages would be seen where the tunic didn't cover it.
Light blue eyes looked over the slave, a wave of relief washed through the Schnee's entire being as she saw Ruby stand there with her back straight, but her eyes did linger on the bandages. "I thought for sure your gladiators would still need healing." She nodded her head, "I suppose I'll take my words back for saying that I didn't believe." Weiss laughed lightly.
The slave master smiled, "I told you they were fine by now… but on to that thing earlier, you mentioned something about a thief before Red showed up." He was intrigued
"Oh yes, Lord Alistair was robbed and his servant was killed." Weiss recalled the latest news.
"Did they figure out what the thief wanted?" The slave master was curious, "If they killed one of his servants, then it must have been something important."
Weiss shrugged, "They were missing a couple slave collars, but that's about it. I don't know why they would kill the servant if that's all they were stealing."
"It's simple, to leave no witnesses." He sat back in his chair, "It's a curious crime, why steal just those slave collars?" Green eyes pondered for a moment before shrugging his shoulder, "Who knows, I only hope that the local law enforcement catches the criminal."
"It was a good thing Lord Alistair was away that night at Lady Adel's, who knows what else could have happened." She was concerned over the ordeal; she had yet to procure her own personal guard just yet – other than Klein who was her manservant that chose to follow her to Mistral.
"Moving on to the reason I'm here, your three percent cut of the deals you've helped brokered so far." She may have fibbed a little when she stated her reason; the merchant forced her eyes to not look over at the slave.
Weiss presented an official bank statement that was handed to her by Klein, the manservant sat off to the side with a bag in hand. "I think you'll find yourself happy with the overall cut of three percent, you'll be earning about 400 gold lien this month."
Roman whistled happily, 'All this coin and I haven't had to go through the risk of putting up a champion in the Arena.' Despite how easy it was to throw a man in the Coliseum, one had to mention the entry fee for one gladiator, roughly 55 gold lien. But the pay out was good since you would take your opponents lien if their gladiator loses, not to mention a small cut of the admission fees. However, you would always have to pay roughly 15% of your total winnings to the family who owned the Stone Coliseum – the Fall family. And it was worth mentioning that if your slave died in the Arena, you just lost out on the roughly 300 gold lien you spent on the slave in the first place.
But all of this didn't include the betting, Roman was a gambling man who loved betting on himself during the gladiator games. More often than not he would win, but there were always the couple of times he would lose – which he was never happy about.
The Torchwick Villa, the parties, and his personal staff that included Neo, Junior and his men, the Malachite twins, and his cooking staff had a salary that needed to be paid – those expenses were not cheap.
So this business venture with Weiss Schnee would be highly beneficial to the slave master, so Roman had made it his mission to keep his newfound Schnee friends as amicable as possible.
Roman looked over the scroll with the official Schnee seal, all he had to do was present it to the bank and 400 gold lien would be deposited into his account with the Mistral Bank. "This is much more lucrative than last month, I see that your name has been picking up traction."
"The people of Mistral have proved to have quiet the appetite for Altesian fish, I think our fish market venture has proved very successful so far." Roman had gotten Weiss in touch with a well-known dock master; Weiss brokered a deal for Altesian fish delicacies to be sold at the docks. The Schnee Merchant Company owned some fishing rights in Atlas' bays. With some ingenious technology that included the ice dust crystals, they were able to preserve the fish's freshness from the time the fish was caught in the bays of Atlas until they needed to be sold on the docks of Mistral.
"As enjoyable as this has been, I must say that I do have some other business to attend to – more specifically a potential investment in some slaves." Roman looked over his friend as he rose, "But please, feel free to take your time leaving…" He smirked as he recalled that the Schnee's fascination with the Reaper, "I'll have Red attend to you."
"Oh no, don't-" Weiss began only to be cut off as Roman leaned in close to her ear.
"I usually don't let the men play with Red because… well she doesn't take to them too well and I don't want to run the risk of her getting pregnant. But women, she's fine around." Torchwick's voice was low, but his green eyes looked up to the slave as Ruby clenched her jaw, she heard and clearly understood what her Master meant.
There were several occasions where she was forked over to female nobles for entertainment purposes, but all those times she only had to please the nobles. In turn for her services, her Master was in better favor of those noble women and was able to procure a few things he wanted from them.
Never did they try to touch her… precious parts. Except for one noble woman in particular – Ruby's body pleasantly shuddered at the thought of that beautiful midnight hair that screamed seduction and those amber eyes that looked at her with such insatiability.
Weiss' face lit up the color of Ruby's namesake as she processed what Roman meant.
"I'll be heading back to the Villa as well, Lady Weiss, I'll get started on balancing the books." Klein coughed, he was quick to dismiss himself.
"A good manservant you are, good sir." Torchwick called out jovially to the older man.
"K-Klein!" Weiss called out uselessly, she knew Klein was just trying to be considerate for her private life. It was no secret that her Father took part in pretty much everything that Roman had to offer at his Villa. It would have come to no surprise to him if Weiss wished to do the same.
"It's okay to cut loose, Snowflake. No one in Mistral will judge you for it – otherwise they would damned hypocrites." Roman teased, "Relax for once, you've been hard at work." He enticed once more, "What ever you do, on the house… and no one has to know. Consider this private party as an official congratulations for setting up your branch company here." The slave master began to walk out as Junior followed him out, "Do be careful of her back though."
Finally, the two were alone in the room.
"Looks like I'll be in your care again." Weiss began as she looked around the parlor.
The gladiator looked over the Schnee merchant; the Mistrali heat beat down on the both of them, as the parlor room was hot from the glaring sun that shone through the balcony. She observed as Weiss attempted to fan herself.
"There are cooler rooms else where, if you wish, Master Schnee." Ruby suggested, she remembered how pleasant Weiss was.
"Please, lead the way. It was pleasant before the sun began to shine down on the room." She was glad for the change of pace of conversation.
On the way to the cooler portion of the Villa, they ran into another slave that obviously wasn't another of Torchwick's gladiators. Weiss recognized the blond as her Father was absolutely enamored by this one.
"Helen," Ruby called out to the blond house slave."
Her green eyes shined in a friendly manner, "Reaper," She presented herself with such grace as she caught sight of the guest, "Lady Schnee." She bowed elegantly.
"A cask of wine and a pitcher of water for Master Schnee." The gladiator requested.
"Right away." Her voice was like a song. The merchant understood why she was so popular.
The house slave wandered off as Ruby led them into a room.
Weiss was taken back by the sight of the bed, there was arching windows off to the side that showed the view of the Kingdom and the front of Roman's Villa that had a long drive way out front. His closest neighbor was down the road as the man lived right on the edge of the city.
"I… I'm not trying to… sleep with you." Weiss flushed as the words left her mouth. She chose a spot on the couch in the room as the slave remained standing.
Ruby raised a brow, "It's my duty to ensure guests are comfortable, and this is a cooler part of the house as the sun isn't shining down on this room so harshly."
Helen returned with a pitcher of water and a cask of wine, behind her another slave held two cups for Weiss to drink from. Ruby grabbed the cup and pitcher and motioned they place the wine on the table nearby. The house slaves left the two alone; Ruby proceeded to filled both cups with either water or wine.
"Water is fine for now." Weiss grabbed the cup and gulped down the contents to ease her parched throat. The gladiator simply stood off to the side as she peered out the window in the silence. She wanted to lighten the mood a bit and searched her thoughts for a conversation topic.
She couldn't remember the last time she was this tongue-tied.
"Pyrrha, Lady Nikos, taught me of the history of gladiators a while ago." She cut through the air, Ruby looked over and nodded to affirm she was listening, "I think I can understand the sport a little better now, I used to detest watching at first."
The gladiator was a bit perplexed, "Then why do you have gladiators then?" If memory served correctly, she had fought against at least 3 champions that belonged to the Schnee's – all 3 of which had been cut down by her sword.
"I only have Commander Arc at my disposal now, you and the Monkey King did a fine job of cutting them down in the Arena. Plus… it was Father's idea to gain favor with Roman and a few other nobles through the gladiator matches. I thought of other ways, but he thought this was the fastest… as well as the most expensive." Weiss bit her cheek as she recalled how much money they ended wasting for 'building relations with the locals'. They spent almost 2000 gold lien, plus the expenses her Father accrued by attending so many parties… and then the several times he'd come to Roman seeking entertainment.
"Is Commander Arc your only slave?" Ruby questioned out of curiosity.
Weiss shook her head, "I have one house slave that Klein manages nicely. I have toyed with the idea of getting another gladiator." It would prove beneficial to her standing among the elite and aristocrat if she had a gladiator who performed well in the coliseum; she saw how well known Roman was within that circle. It would be valuable for her to expand the Schnee ties within Mistral.
"I see." The slave nodded.
It was quiet once more.
The silence was getting under the Schnee's skin, she wasn't too sure what to do in this position. She had never commanded a slave for… for sex. She had three encounters under her belt - a boy in her teenage years and a little bit later a fellow school mate who was an heiress (both wanted to… broaden their views) but that was about it as she began to seriously take the family business into consideration shortly after. Then there was the thing with a young noble man back in Atlas… there was a lot of wine that had been drunk that night.
And it didn't take much for Weiss to get completely sloshed, the merchant would always take care to monitor how much she drank at all the parties and social gatherings she would attend.
"What's it like? To be in there?" Weiss engrossed herself into the topic of gladiators once more, it was genuine as a part of her was intrigued by it all, "I never got around to asking Pyrrha."
Ruby noticed the cup empty, she grabbed the wine and offered it to her guest; Weiss complied and took a big sip from the sweet nectar. She was surprised, she could barely taste the burn that was usually present in all the wine she drank.
The Reaper knew what type of answer that she would usually give when prompted… but a part of her wanted to tell the merchant how she really felt.
However, Weiss Schnee was still a close friend of Torchwick.
"Deafening… It's just me and my opponent." The Reaper started the rehearsed response, something Torchwick would be proud of, "There's a certain… addiction I suppose, to keep winning, and then there's the roar of the crowd… Standing in the middle of it all you can't help but feel wrapped up in everyone's… elation."
"Deafening…" Weiss studied the gladiator; she recalled how lonely the slave looked during her last match in the coliseum, "Do you feel like you're absolutely alone in the middle of it all?" Her cup felt empty, the sweet wine was gone, but the dutiful slave took immediate note and filled the cup once more.
Ruby was caught off guard by the question; she looked into those analyzing eyes to see if there was an ulterior motif behind her question. The gladiator couldn't seem to find one, instead it seemed as if those light blue orbs were searching – searching for something deeper, something lost that needed to be found.
Silver eyes that were usually as cold as the gladius she often held softened for a moment – they shined as if they found knew life. For an instant, Weiss wanted with all her being to know what those eyes looked like when they glowed in mirth and laughter.
"I feel alone in there all the time."
Weiss mouth slightly hung open at the honest answer. An unreadable emotion was clearly evident on the slave's face as those silver eyes bore into hers. The merchant blinked before finishing her cup of wine – she could easily relate to the slave.
Despite the parties and niceties that came with the money, every time she was surrounded fellow aristocrats, nobles, merchants – the list went on – she felt alone.
As if something were missing.
But what could it be? She had it all when it came to lien and influence, she had succeeded in expanding the Schnee Merchant Company (but there was still work to be done to expand the name even further in Mistral) and yet, she felt as though there was something more. She thought that coming to Mistral would quench this never-ending thirst for that elusive 'more'.
Is this why Winter left the business and joined the military?
She thought back to that lonely silver-eyed warrior in the middle of the Arena. How the gladiator would often look to the sky searching for something. Maybe it was the same elusive 'more' that Weiss sought out.
She wasn't sure what 'more' she could want at this point.
Except for maybe another cup of wine.
"Master Schnee, you've drank all the wine in the cask." Ruby stated. The empty cask was placed off to the side next to the still full pitcher of water.
Weiss blinked rapidly, she hadn't realized she had sat there simply thinking the entire time.
"How long has it been?" Weiss questioned, she looked out the window to see the sun had crossed its highest peak.
"Perhaps an hour." The slave diligently replied.
"You'll have to excuse me, I was lost in thought." The merchant rose from her seat, the sweat on her body wasn't nearly as bad as earlier in the parlor. Weiss looked over the gladiator, how strong she was in the arena, how easily she could bring a man to his knees with a flourish of her sword.
And now the Champion of the Arena was here, attending to her – Weiss Schnee.
The merchant supposed Roman was right about how delightful it was to make one so powerful attend to your needs.
With a deep breath, she let go of her worries and stress of her work. For once, she felt truly relaxed – she would have to ask Roman where the man received his wine, as she had become a fan of it now. She craved more of it to quench this growing thirst.
Silver eyes watched her guest intently.
She was dressed in a light cream-colored dress to accommodate the heat. She raised her hand to her brow to wipe the bead of sweat. Her cheeks were flushed, it reminded Ruby of the time she saw another esteemed guest walk out of a private room with Sun during a Torchwick party. Her hair was slightly tousled, in such a way that Ruby wanted to run her hands through it and make the mess her own. The way the cloth of her dress hung delicately from around her neck, the skin on her shoulders were unblemished, the gladiator would have guessed that it was as smooth as fine marble too.
And then she turned and faced the window.
Ruby felt her breath hitch itself in her throat as she caught sight of her momentary Master's beautiful back that was exposed in its entire glory from the dress. At the junction of where the small of her back met her hips is when the cloth of the dress began again. The gladiator counted three beads of sweat running down that tantalizing posterior that had no blemishes.
'Oh Oum… you're absolutely stunning, like you're a princess almost.'
Weiss Schnee looked absolutely hot in every sense of the word.
"Do you stare at all your guests this way?" Light blue eyes looked into those silver ones. A certain hunger was beginning to boil underneath that calm, cool, and collected façade.
Ruby hadn't realized she was staring, "What do you mean?" A bewildered look was on her face, she felt like a child getting caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
Weiss smiled, for once the gladiator was caught off guard, "I mean, you stare as if you're looking at a goddess." A cunning smile as the slave observed the glazed over eyes of her guest.
Weiss Schnee was without a doubt drunk.
Which wasn't a surprise since the merchant had drank the cask of wine while lost in thought.
"…I'm sorry if I've offended you." Ruby was unsure of how to handle the situation, all the times before she was usually ordered what to do, no thinking was necessary as she would just let her body obey what ever command was given.
This was different… a good different.
"Tell me, when was the last time you've laid with someone?" Weiss was straightforward; once more she sat on the couch, this time her legs crossed elegantly.
Her dress rode up her thigh, revealing more of the marble like skin that Ruby had trouble peeling her eyes from.
"It's been at least 2 months…" The slave responded, her ears heated up at the thought. She couldn't deny that there was days that she felt those carnal desires, but she was able to erase most thoughts by a hard day of training. For the merchant, it had been far too long since she had laid with anyone.
"Those female nobles, I assume?" Weiss questioned, the absolute power she felt from watching the young slave squirm at the mere talk of sex.
She never would have guessed the infamous Reaper to have such an innocent side.
"Yes." Ruby nodded, the way Weiss looked at her – there was hunger in the merchant's eyes.
"You're so shy with this conversation." Her legs shifted as she re-crossed them with her left leg on top, and then the fact that the Schnee didn't take her eyes off Ruby as she had done so. "Or is it because you want something?"
The Schnee noble wanted something… or rather someone. It had been far too long since she had done it with someone.
There was only so much she could do alone to quench certain needs.
Weiss stood as she motioned for Ruby to come closer to her, the slave hesitantly stepped forward, "There's many things I want, some things I've denied myself for so long..." She ran a hand across the slave's shoulder; she stopped where the bandages began across her chest. A concerned look encompassed her face, "How bad is it now?" She fingered the bandage gently.
The gladiator was caught off guard by the gentle tone, not many nobles would show such concern – genuine concern at that, "It's mostly healed, I can't hold a sword for another week in case they reopen."
Weiss stepped back, she bit her lip at what she was thinking, "Can I see?"
Ruby complied by taking a step back, turning around, and then removing her tunic. With a tug, she unraveled the bandages that wrapped around her torso.
The lacerations were deep and had begun to leave scars, they decorated the entirety of her backside and were pink in color to show the skin was still tender. Out of curiosity, Weiss ran a hand along an older scar that had the same laceration pattern as the lashings that were still healing.
"You've been whipped before?" She saw that the old scars formed a cross on her back.
"Yes." Ruby answered, she shivered at the girl's touch; Weiss touched her as if she were made of glass that would break.
She couldn't remember the last time she had been touched so gently.
The feather like finger tips found another scar at her waist, a sword wound, and then they travelled up her sides, coming across the different badges of honor that the gladiator had earned in the Arena. She felt a breath on her shoulder; the hands began to move forward to her abdomen where there were more scars and marks from battles in the arena. Weiss reveled in feeling the taught muscles that decorated the gladiator, they felt like stone at her fingertips. And the scars that decorated her body – she wanted to kiss each and every one of them to see if they would disappear.
It happened so unexpectedly; a kiss was planted on the gladiator's shoulder.
"You've been through a lot, haven't you?" Weiss asked in a small voice.
The gladiator simply nodded as she stood with the merchant's arms around her. Her heart beat loudly within her ears, as if she were fighting an impossible battle in the coliseum.
Ruby turned, she placed her rough hands against the waist of the smaller girl before her. The porcelain skin contrasted against her tanned hands, and she couldn't help but revel how Weiss felt exactly how she thought her to be.
Like fine marble.
Their kiss tasted sweet like the empty cask of wine.
Clumsy hands gently grabbed the merchant by her face as to bring her closer, the kiss deepened as Weiss tried to remove the space between the two. The garment she wore began to annoy her as she broke away unexpectedly.
She smiled to herself as she saw those silver eyes burn like steel inside the forge. They watched her every move as she removed the dress, the fine fabric fell into a pool around her feet, the gladiator complied as she kicked off her leather boots and undid her breeches.
Once more the two locked lips, Weiss threw herself into the arms of the gladiator and the two fell back onto the fine silk sheets that were spread out on the bed. The gladiator took no head of the luxurious feeling against her skin, rather she was too engrossed by the woman in her arms as she began to grind her hips against the gladiator's thigh.
Ruby could feel her interim Master's thirst, and she wanted nothing more than to be the one to quench it. She recalled what the female nobles had asked of her, and began to apply some of the techniques she was taught in order to please them.
With a firm grip, she grabbed the supple cheeks of the woman riding her, a pleased groan erupted as a result. The gladiator broke the kiss with the merchant and instead trailed her lips down the woman's neck, going further south as she nipped the skin at her chest, and then latched on to her pert breast. Softly, she teased her with her tongue as her hands ran a path up and down the inside of her thighs. Every now and again her fingers would brush against the Weiss' sex, each time the snow haired woman would squirm her hips, as those playful hands would retreat away.
Weiss moaned as she placed her hands on the strong shoulders of the gladiator to support herself, she felt her form rise as the slave sat up with the merchant in her lap. Ruby shifted her arms to support the woman in her lap better, gently she laid her down, the body in her arms was like a religion to the slave – she wanted to worship everything that Weiss had to offer.
Never in her 21 years of living had Ruby felt like this for anyone.
With a final kiss on the pert breast she had played with, Ruby stopped her ministrations to look over the goddess before her. She ran a hand across the unmarred skin, her thumb caressing her navel as it passed. Her other hand traced the curves of her porcelain skin.
Her she was, one as scarred and damaged as she, fucking an Altesian elite.
She smirked as Weiss whimpered for more, her hips moving off the bed as her body begged to be touched, to be caressed, to be pleased.
To be absolutely worshipped by the slave.
Ruby complied as she dipped her head low. She planted a chaste kiss on the dip of her pelvis; from there she ran her tongue to Weiss' center where she buried her nose in the soft white tresses there.
She had a feeling that white was Weiss' natural hair color.
"Oh!" Weiss gasped as she felt the hot tongue run a lazy path up her throbbing pussy.
With both hands she grabbed on to the back of Ruby's head as she tried to pull the gladiator closer. The slave complied as licked down the slit with the back of her tongue, with her thumbs, she spread those luscious lips and then worked her tongue inside of the withering merchant.
Weiss could have sworn her moan echoed through out the Villa, then her voice caught in her throat, as she could feel that hot tongue darting in and out of her sex but giving slow and lengthy licks within her folds. But the best was when Ruby would come to top of her sex, where a swollen clit impatiently waited some attention.
It was torturous at first as Ruby would slowly trace the tip of her tongue around the clit and then flick it across. The teasing member would trace another line down to the inside of her sex; the gladiator would repeat the pattern a few times.
Then it came all at once, she felt Ruby's warm and wet lips surround the nub. Weiss's eyes shot open as she felt two of the gladiator's digits be inserted inside of her. With practiced hands, she slid her fingers in and out of the merchant, her tongue flicking across her clit at the same time. Weiss gripped on to the short hair harder as she felt the gladiator pick up speed, the sound of the gladiator's saliva and the merchant's own juices could be heard mixing together as her hips began to grind against that rather talented mouth.
"Oh… Oh Oum, I'm gonna cum." Weiss moaned as her head threw itself back, "Oh please, Oh Oum, please – fuck me."
Ruby was pleased with the dirty words she never would have dreamed to fall from the merchant's mouth.
"Ruby, please. Fuck me, faster, please – Ruby, please." She panted as she gripped the back of the gladiator's neck and head.
The slave complied dutifully, she felt Weiss tighten around her fingers and those hips lifted further into her mouth. A shockwave ignited in her whole body as she violently had an orgasm. Ruby looked up and was delighted with the expression on Weiss face, her mouth gasping for air as her chest heaved.
Her body was shaking still.
"You're… really good at this." Weiss voice was a bit hoarse as she sat up to latch her lips on to Ruby's. The merchant groaned at the taste of herself and saw a trail of her own love juices connect the two by their lips when she finally pulled away. She didn't realize how wet she had become.
"I'm glad you're pleased." The slave smiled softly.
Unexpectedly, Ruby fell back onto the sheets – she looked up to see those piercing diamond like eyes look into her own.
"What are-"
With a graceful tilt of her head, those disheveled white locks pooled around the slave. A sensual kiss planted firmly on to her lips before the merchant pulled away. On her lips was painted a devious smile.
"I want to hear you squirm, my dear gladiator."
"I'm glad you had a pleasant time here then, Snowflake." Roman smirked at the merchant who had just finished eating an early breakfast with him.
Weiss narrowed her eyes at the slave master, "It was the wine." She quipped back as she tossed back another cup full of water, she wanted this headache to just disappear, "But I must say, you have well trained slaves." Torchwick only chuckled more at the comment.
She thought back to earth shattering fucking that-
Weiss shook her head of the indecent thoughts.
But she had to admit that it was greatly needed in order to relieve the stress of running her business.
"I'll be off then." Weiss sighed as she heard the carriage out front pull up, Roman arranged a ride for the merchant to get back to her Villa.
The slave master smiled to himself, as he was positive that he had ensured that he would stay in the Schnee's good graces.
It was still early in the morning and the gladiator prospects were out doing the prescribed rigorous physical training in the courtyard, Neo didn't have to over see most of the training as all the prospects knew by heart what their drills were.
Ruby looked on as she exited the Villa and went into the courtyard; a few slaves caught sight of her, but shrugged it off as they had an idea of why she was leaving so early in the morning. She stopped as she caught sight of Neptune who heaved his log across his shouldersand then threw the blasted thing, the Reaper took note that the log had been tossed further than the first time she had ever seen him do it a few months ago.
The blue haired slave looked up at Ruby before he bent over to heave the log and repeat his throw.
The expression on Ruby's face was unreadable as she studied the bruises that decorated Neptune's body. He looked even worse than he did before; it was evident that he was tired and possibly malnourished as his cheeks were beginning to hollow out.
"When was the last time you had a proper meal?" The Reaper questioned as she stood over the prospect.
Neptune's downcast expression said it all despite his silence. Ruby looked around at the other prospects to ensure she had their attention.
"No one fuck with his food anymore." She simply stated.
The courtyard remained silent as Ruby walked into the slave compound and into the area where the private quarters were located.
"Someone's in a good mood – I thought we agreed that we'll let him learn until we can hold swords." Sun teased as he could easily read the obvious after glow that still surrounded Ruby, "Was it Lady Cinder again?" He wagged his brows as he wore a smug grin.
"Shush." Ruby pushed the man out of her way as she made way to her quarters, "And I just said to stop fucking with his food."
Sun pretended to be in deep thought as he stroked his non-existent beard, "Oh right, Lady Cinder wasn't here…. But Lady Weiss was, I heard from Octavia who heard from another house slave who heard from everyone's favorite blond slave Amelia that you happily attended to her needs." He spoke animatedly as he had no shame in partaking of the gossip that took place amongst the house slaves.
The younger gladiator narrowed her eyes at the Faunus, "What makes you say happily?"
"They say that they've never heard someone as loud as Lady Schnee before." A worn down pillow was thrown at Sun's face, the Faunus dodged in time, "And Lady Malachite said that you need to stop by the infirmary and have Octavia attend to your back."
Ruby nodded as she simply looked over the woodcarving she was making, it was reminiscent of a Beowulf, but it was still incomplete. She had made a few other carvings as well, it was something she did in to take her mind off things when she didn't have to train, or fight, or tend to guests. The gladiator picked up the carving and thoughtfully inspected it.
"I think this is the best mood I've seen you in." Sun commented as he took a seat on the floor, he was careful to not lean his back that was still tender. He noticed the small smile that graced Ruby's lips, usually a hard scowl was always present, "You like Lady Weiss, don't you?"
The carving was dropped on the floor, "Y-You're delusional." A slight flush was visible on her cheeks as Ruby bent over to pick up the carving.
"You know, I never would have guessed that the uptight kind was more your type – I thought something exciting and passionate like Lady Cinder was more your-"
"Lady Weiss is passionate." Ruby huffed as she glared at the Faunus, "I was only doing my job that Master Torchwick commanded of me."
"Probably the most willing you've ever been to do his bidding." A shit-eating grin was seen on the Monkey King's face.
Ruby threw the carving as hard as she could at that face.
"Aye, this is the most riled up I've seen you in a while." Nadir yawned as he looked over the gladiator, "I was worried for a bit when you weren't back by night fall, but when I heard from the house slaves that you were sleeping peacefully while wrapped up in Lady Schnee, I was surprised." A steady smile, "Don't you usually leave your guests when you're done with your business?"
Ruby glowed a deeper shade of red as she spotted Bolin step out from his private quarters and join in on the group.
"Oh? Did Ruby actually enjoy a night with a guest for once?" The eldest gladiator chimed, "If memory serves correctly, you always complain about what a chore it is, or how sore your jaw is after a night of-"
"Okay!" Ruby declared as she finally had enough of the teasing, "I liked it, for once… Oum dammit, just let me… leave me be." She muttered.
"Ah, I remember basking in my first successful after glow." Nadir commented sarcastically.
"As if you would know." The youngest gladiator scoffed.
"What it's like to fuck someone I like? Of course I do." The wilding smirked as he caught sight of how red the tips of the girl's ears were turning.
Sun looked upward as he raised a brow, "Who would let a Boarbatusk like you sleep with them?" He jested, this was the first that Nadir mentioned a woman.
Nadir lightly kicked the slave as he took a seat on Ruby's bedding; Bolin listened in as he leaned on the archway leading to Ruby's quarters. The wilding ran a hand threw his pink locks that he had tied up at the moment.
Nadir Shiko wasn't nearly as quick as the other three gladiators, but he was sturdy and strong. His blue eyes closed as his great chest heaved a deep breath; his tan skin was also decorated in scars that he had received from the arena. A peculiar one could be seen on his left hand.
He had lost his shield and attempted to block a thrust aimed for his head. The result was being stabbed through his hand. Needless to say, he won that match.
"She was the leader of our roaming tribe, and by Oum she was strong – she could easily best most of the men in the tribe." The wilding smiled fondly, "The first time I began to notice her as a woman was when she rescued me from an Ursa when I was younger. Her hair was bright and when she fought she looked as majestic as the kingly beasts that roamed Vacuo."
"Does your lion have a name?" Bolin poked fun as well, Nadir glared back at the eldest gladiator.
"Arslan Altan, she was the former chief's daughter." The wilding's eyes glowed as he recalled the memories he had made with her, "I only hope that she's doing well now."
The Auburn Tribe had wandered too far north into the Mistral Kingdom territories; supposedly they were trespassing on farmlands when they were passing through. This resulted in a scuffle with the local guards there and their tribe was raided in the dead of the night.
Nadir and a few other warriors were captured, but the bulk of the tribe had gotten away.
He often thought of those olive green eyes on nights that he felt lonely.
Bolin Hori placed a hand on Nadir's shoulder as he walked over and took a seat next to the wilding. His loose clothing revealing his own bandages, but his built frame was apparent. He was lean as he too relied on his agility in the arena, but his strength was also something to not scoff at. Sometimes, when Sun would coax him into a friendly wrestling match, he could toss the Faunus like a sack of potatoes.
"Reese Chloris, she was the neighborhood tom boy while I grew up with her. Our houses were right next door to each other." Bolin chipped in, "She used to be able to kick my ass off of any tree we climbed together, and by Oum the years were wonderful to her." He recalled an incident with the local baker's son who tried to win favor by bringing her family bread everyday for 3 weeks straight. "She was feisty."
"In bed?" Sun's tone was suggestive.
The eldest gladiator narrowed his brown eyes at the Faunus, "No, you perverted monkey. Not everyone thinks with their dick." The group chuckled at the joke, "We only kissed, finally, after it was known I was going to become a slave to work off my father's debt."
"…Would she be upset if she found out you weren't a virgin anymore?" Nadir questioned.
Bolin shook his head, "No, she wouldn't, just like how I wouldn't be upset if she wasn't one anymore either. It's been 6 years. Plus, Master Torchwick is famous for his services." He laughed lightly at the thought, "She's been helping out my mother and sister though… I never asked her to do that." The eldest gladiator looked down at the floor.
"Has she thought about visiting whenever your mother and sister come over?" Ruby asked, she never recalled seeing anyone else coming to visit Bolin.
"She has, but I told my mother to tell her to stay away – I don't want Master Torchwick to find out about her… My gut just tells me that." Bolin frowned, "But she has gone to a few of my gladiator matches." He recalled the few times he would see that beautiful turquoise hair in the stands, he could feel her gaze every time she was there and he was in the thick of it all. "I'm going to help her run the flower shop she inherited from her family."
"I find that hard to imagine." Sun smiled at Bolin, "It's a good gig you got waiting for you."
"If your thieving ways doesn't land you back here as a slave, come visit and I might be able to get you a proper job." Bolin shot back.
Ruby smiled as she took the remaining space on the bedding to sit down.
It was peaceful moments like this that reminded her how much more to life there was.
"Weiss, it's okay." Pyrrha giggled at the flustered merchant who walked up and down the Schnee Villa's parlor room. "It happens all the time."
"Maybe here, but if Father had found out that I had taken a slave to bed-"
"Didn't your Father frequently do the same?" The red head pointed out.
Weiss spurted, "That... That's different." She tried to reason.
"No, it's not." Pyrrha mused, "Is this your first time laying with someone?"
"Oum no!" The merchant turned a brilliant shade, "I just… she's a slave."
"They're still human."
Weiss sighed as she sat down, "I know…" She looked at her friend as they drank some tea that was a specialty of Atlas. "I'm glad you feel the same. I know back home, to even say that is almost taboo."
"It's the same here, it's just so deeply rooted into our lifestyle and culture. The Kingdom was built on slaves since they were the one to lay the foundation and build the grand palace of the Lionheart royal family." Pyrrha sighed at the sentiment.
The mood was taking a dive from the earlier light heartedness.
"Perhaps we should change the conversation." Weiss suggested as she sat down and drank her tea.
"So the Reaper is very talented, I presume?"
"Pyrrha!" Weiss exclaimed, as she turned red faced once more.
"I am only kidding." Her green eyes glowed in mirth; she had taken to Weiss so well over the past few weeks. "I met with the King's Council yesterday to make my case."
The merchant's eyes went wide, "I suppose there's perks to having your father be a part of it."
The champion nodded as she sipped her tea, "He managed to get me an audience – it's relevant as Councilman Salem and my father will go to the island of Vytal to discuss the peace treaty on the King's behalf."
The news spread like wildfire once the Kingdom of Vale surrendered in it's territory war against Mistral.
"So will they do it?" Weiss was curious.
A knowing smile graced the champion's lips, "I was hoping you would allow me to tell Jaune the good news before it becomes official. Councilman Oobleck is currently writing up the official documents, they'll be released once the treaty is finalized."
"Of course! This is wonderful news!" The merchant was ecstatic as she called over to Klein to bring Jaune in from outside where he was allowed to train with a wooden shield and sword.
"But how will you know which slave is really a prisoner of war and which isn't?" Weiss questioned, she imagined it was going to be a messy process, as slave owners did have to pay a good amount of coin for a slave to begin with.
"Councilman Oobleck said that there's official records of who's a true prisoner of war, and slave masters were also given a copy of the official documentation when they purchased their slaves as well as some of their personal affects – like Commander Arc's Valesian Coin." Pyrrha had a Coin that was issued to her when she joined the Mistral Army as well; it was a tradition in most militaries. "My father suggested that those who have prisoners be compensated 100 gold lien per prisoner." Pyrrha explained as she looked out the Villa's window to see the blond Commander approaching the house. "Councilman Salem also suggested that slave owners found violating the release be fined 600 gold lien in addition to the prisoner being set free."
"Where would they get money from that? Surely the king's treasury isn't so big to be forking over so much lien?" Weiss was slightly concerned.
The champion smiled sheepishly at the merchant's concerned, "There is going to be an increase in taxes soon, but nothing to warrant rioting – we do have to cover the salaries of those who served in the Mistral Army. Another place where we will get money from is that part of the peace treaty is that Vale will be imposed a war tax for the duration of how long the war was."
"A three year war tax?" Weiss' eyes went wide; the country would be reeling from that for a while. "The country would riot."
"That's the initial proposition, father says that they only want a years worth of war taxation from them – but they want to start high to see how much they can take from them." A devious tactic that will probably prove successful as Vale had already conceded to defeat by the Mistrali forces (with help from their Atlas counterparts of course).
"I see." Weiss smiled as she watched Jaune Arc enter the parlor the two were relaxing in.
"Lady Weiss," Jaune bowed his head to his master, "And Lady Pyrrha."
The two Commanders locked eyes and smiled at the others.
Weiss caught the exchange; she would tease her friend later about it.
RWBY Order: I enjoyed our talks earlier, I hope all is going well with you. Hopefully this clears up any confusion about Yang.
Rapter267: I don't plan to have Torchwick to have much fighting skills, hence Junior and his men acting as his guards. I like pushing things to the limit, we'll see how well everyone holds out with their restraint.
Darkerpaths: As far the justification of slavery goes, I didn't cover it so much in this details as I wanted to kind of 'conform Weiss' into Mistral's culture (violence, sex, parties, and other debaucheries). I do promise you that chapter 5 will do the job in fleshing out the slavery bit... as well as Pyrrha and Jaune if you were curious. And Junior is just a henchman.
Grn Drgnzrd: Slow burn on Neptune's true part in the story, I do enjoy smacking him around - but I like to think myself benevolent from time to time. See you next chapter as well.
Shifty830: To Spartacus or not to Spartacus, is the question. haha
Red Renegade 777: I've got big plans for all the main characters from RWBY, they'll be brought into the fold once the time is appropriate. I can promise you that Chapter 5 will flesh out some of those other characters. Tis a secret for now for who else may or may not be slaves. And war isn't always the end goal - maybe some other focus in life. Stay tuned in if you can, I promise the rest of the questions you have will be answered.
Lecoj03: Thank you! I really wanted to avoid writing something too corny or too much of a cliche, I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far. I like to take my time fleshing out characters, I've always found it too much of a chore to go into so much details all at once. As far as Bolin, I'm not sure if you've noticed but I've taken liberties of using Team ABRN and Team NDGO to take the places of some of the side characters.
Dantikat: I can only hope that I can capture those conflicts well enough, I will say that Gladiator has been a fun challenge for me as a writer.
Firehawk242: Followed by the 1130 report on Salem's - oh wait, I may have said too much.
To everyone else who has read and reviewed, thank you once more for taking the time to do so - I do enjoy reading what everyone has to say. Once again, it really does mean a lot to me that so many people enjoy this story. Definitely gives me a lot of motivation.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter of Gladiator and hope to see a bunch of you in the next one.
Cheers,
DevilRed