Wicked eyes greedily traced the outline of her best slave. She loved the way the sweat and blood rolled down his sculpted abs; her hands traced the faint sword wound that marked her gladiator's chest. His chest panted heavily in both pleasure and pain.
However, Cinder knew it to be mostly pleasure as she skillfully grinded her hips into Mercury Black's strong member.
"You performed well little Mercury." Cinder cooed softly as she continued her steady rhythm, she knew it absolutely tortured her slave as his body was begging for sweet release.
"Yes…. Mistress…" The silver haired gladiator grunted, he was given a simple command earlier, but it was taking everything in him to not go against it.
"Oh? Is this a little too much for you to handle, Mercury?" The bed's third occupant rolled over on her side, Emerald Sustrai smirked, and she knew the slave was closing in on his limits.
His eyes rolled skyward as he inhaled sharply, Cinder simply felt so fucking good. "For my Mistress…. I will endure." He knew that his reward would be ten fold better.
"Even though you lost against that Hori kid." Emerald jested once more.
Mercury grunted through clench teeth as he just about lost concentration.
"Now, now Emerald. We all knew that it was a loss to begin with, Roman's gladiators are just that good." Cinder slowed her pace down; she bit her bottom lip as it was starting to feel good for her too.
"You did well too," She motioned for her tanned bodyguard to come closer, Emerald complied as she leaned her lips closer, awaiting her mistress to take them in her.
Cinder planted a sensual kiss, "I have yet to thoroughly thank you for grabbing those items for me from the Office of Official Records."
Emerald smirked into the kiss, "It helps that your Mother is a Councilman."
"M-Mistress…. Please." Mercury begged, his knuckles were white as he clenched the sheets.
"Hmmm…." Cinder did a slow roll of her hips, the slave beneath whimpered, she could feel his pulse thumping loudly inside her as he physically begged for the sweet release.
"You may."
Two Days prior:
The Reaper sat up as the morning rays began to fill her small room. She could hear the others waking up as well as Nadir often yawned loudly in the morning. Nimbly, she stood up from the bedding and stretched her arms over head.
She smiled to herself as she had a feeling that the day was going to be good. A few days prior Nadir and Bolin were successful in their pair match for the 'Taming of the Beast' event. Usually when they were successful their Master was often in a good mood for a while due to all the gold lien he would make off of their win in the arena.
Silver eyes glanced at the row of wooden carvings she had lined up on the stone edge of the wall. The different Grimm creatures she had encountered were prevalent, but here there were a few trinkets of home. One such trinket was Vale's symbol of two crossed axes.
Ruby smiled as she picked up the emblem, she missed her actual coin that was given to her when she finished her training to enter the ranks of Vale's army. She closed her eyes as she recounted what her life was like before she made it to Mistral.
Once Ruby turned 16 she had left the orphanage in the slums of Vale and enlisted in the army. There she learned to capitalize on her uncanny natural ability in swordplay and her swiftness. She would be assigned to a rather small company of 80 troops that was in charge of mostly scouting missions.
'127th Brigade, 3rd Battalion… Seeker Company' Ruby smiled to herself at the thought of her old unit and all the friends she had made there.
Ruby quickly turned out to be a gifted scout as she more often found ways to get out of conflict with the enemy, rather than into it. She was strong with her sword so that if she were to be engaged by man, beast, or Grimm - she would turn out winner. Her name, Ruby Rose, would become well known within the small company of lesser-known soldiers. She was dependable and had a good battle sense, as most people who went on scouting missions with her would make it back in one piece.
Things were relatively peaceful for Ruby, her company would often deploy to new islands and other small land masses to scout and map the area out so that the bigger companies and brigades could move in and set up outposts and some times even massive military bases. All they would mostly encounter were rogue and dangerous bands, aggressive beasts, and of course the dreaded Grimm that roamed all of Remnant. Many believed the Grimm to be creatures of dark souls that never found peace after death.
At least that's how the story goes.
In between these scouting missions and small deployments did Ruby spend time in Vale. The scout had bought a small cottage that wasn't too far from where two of her fellow scouts, Ren and Nora, resided. They lived right at the edge of the city of Vale, far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd, yet just out of reach of the treacherous beasts and Grimm which roamed the Sanus continent. It wasn't anything special, but it was still a life and home that Ruby had built.
But these seemingly simple days didn't last long. The year of Ruby's 19th birthday is when a territory war had broken out between Vale and Mistral. The eastern kingdom wished to claim the northern island of Vytal as their territory. King Ozpin of Vale did not take kindly to this land grab.
Negotiations turned to debate, debate turned into a heated compromise, compromise turned into a disagreement, and soon conflict was born from it all.
Ruby had heard rumors that the Mistrali military detachment on Vytal had struck first, she had also heard rumors that it was the Valesian guard that had provoked the event and that the Mistrali soldiers were merely trying to defend themselves.
The young scout didn't give a damn, because either way it turned into a war. And with the war came more coin for those in the army to fight the war.
Vale had pushed back Mistral from the northern island of Vytal. Ruby's scouting company had been forward deployed across the water and into the enemy's country. Their mission was simple; to scout the land, pinpoint the enemy's location, and relay that information back to the main body of 1200 troops that had set up base on Mistral's western coast.
Three months after Ruby had been sent to Mistral's continent of Anima, is when she was captured. Ruby would never forget the recon mission; she had sent back her partners Ren and Nora because the orange haired girl had broke her ankle while scaling the cliffs of the Mistrali shore. Ren had promised to return quickly after bringing Nora back down to the main camp for medical treatment. The lone scout had chose to press on and keep scaling the mountain to see if she could spot any Mistrali positions from the peak.
She was successful in finding the Mistrali positions, but she didn't expect for there to be an outpost already situated on the top of that mountain.
Ruby was swiftly detained and declared a prisoner of war as her Valesian uniform and emblem quickly gave her away. Ruby would have just been kept in that Outpost's own prison with some possibility of escape if the Outpost was over ran by the Valesian army, but she managed to fuck those chances away by deciding to be a team player for her comrades.
The lone scout had set off a red Dust flare that rocketed high into the sky, once it exploded it had given away the position of the enemy outpost and tipped off the Valesian main camp that the enemy was much closer than anticipated.
The commander of the outpost was infuriated; Ruby was immediately carted off to the main Mistral kingdom and sold off as a slave. Albeit, Mistral did leave her with the privilege of retaining her Valesian identification papers and prisoner of war status – which was safely kept in the Office of Official Records.
"You're gonna be a free man soon Bolin!" Sun tackled the man to the ground. The two began rolling around in the morning as the rest of the gladiator slaves wandered to the outdoor area where their breakfast was to be served. A slave with 5 gladiator matches under his belt smiled at the two rolling around. In the Arena, Bolin and Sun were legends – untouchables almost as they have established themselves as fine gladiators. But now the two were simply horsing around like children in the early morning.
The lesser-known gladiator huffed to himself as he went to get his meal for the morning.
"Knock it off before you actually hurt him Sun." Ruby called out as she exited their quarter's area. Nadir was right behind her as they walked up to where the two were wrestling.
"Alright fine, you're off the hook for now." Sun let go of Bolin who stayed on the floor lying out on his back.
"Well… I'm not the only one who's going to be free soon." He pushed back his dark locks that got in his face during the quick romp, "Ruby, you should be getting word soon as well."
The silver-eyed gladiator smiled in glee, "Yeah, any day now." The smallest of the four thought of her cottage back home, she hoped that it was still there and she could only imagine that someone had more than likely ransacked the home as she hadn't been there in nearly two years.
Or worse, someone else lived there now instead.
Ruby shrugged as she figured she would cross that bridge when she got there.
"But for now, we have to focus on you and your match in two days." She said with such determination, "Today will be the last day of serious training, you need to rest tomorrow."
"I'd say he's in pretty good form, Rubes." Nadir shrugged as he led the way to where the food was being served, "He practically slayed those Ursas by himself." He referred to their pair match in the Coliseum a couple of days before. Bolin and Nadir performed flawlessly as the Taming of the Beast event looked like child's play for the pair.
"I couldn't have done it without you buddy." Bolin smiled cheekily, "You make for good bait."
Nadir's eyes narrowed as he shot a dirty look towards his partner, "I seriously thought for a moment that you were about to leave me high and dry with 3 Ursas for a moment."
Sun and Ruby started laughing at the two's antics as they approached the line. Out of respect for the four, the slaves that were already in line stepped aside and allowed the group to the front. The kitchen slaves served the Core Four each a hearty helping before they went to find a place to sit at one of the benches.
It was just another day on the compound as the morning went on as usual. The prospects went on to do their hellish training to prepare them for their first match in the coliseum as some of the more experienced gladiators helped to train them.
Neo walked about the courtyard to make sure no one was slacking, every now and again she'll stop to patiently observe some of the prospects through their sword movements and make minor corrections to their form.
On the opposite end of the courtyard, Sun and Bolin went at it against each other in a one-on-one sparring match. For the most part, the Monkey King himself had Bolin on the ropes. Despite Sun's laid-back personality, he definitely had a hidden tenacity to him since it was evident in his dual wielding swordplay style. His movements flowed like water and his sword thrusts hit like stone. Bolin could do nothing but to continuously parry the blows as his shield constantly remained up.
Ruby and Nadir observed off to the side as they had been given special instruction to train Bolin for his final match in two days. Silver eyes observed the rare form Sun would use – he was much more aggressive than usual, and it was for good reason. Upon Bolin's sweaty face, a smile could be seen.
Because he was having so much fun with his friends in what would be his final days with them.
Nadir watched as he could see clear as day the feelings that Sun was trying to convey to the older brother figure he sparred against.
Bolin caught the tip of Sun's sword with his shield – he could feel how much Sun cared about him.
The black haired gladiator stopped a swing with his sword arm – there goes the Faunus' never-ending loyalty.
Double sword swings was swiftly dodged with a tuck and roll forward – the brotherhood that was built upon blood, sweat, tears, and loss of fellow gladiators… Bolin felt it echo through out his entire being.
The Monkey King flipped forward and brought his heel down on his kneeling opponent, only for Bolin to bring his shield up in time to block it – don't forget us, dammit.
Bolin retaliated as he dug the tip of sword in the sand and flicked up a cloud of dirt, Sun was temporarily blinded as he stumbled back. He shoved forward against the Faunus with his shield and then brought the edge of the wooden sword against the Faunus' chest – I won't ever forget you guys.
Nadir and Ruby smiled as Bolin offered a hand to his defeated friend.
Sun took a deep breathe before facing upwards towards Bolin, with a beaming smile he grabbed a hold of the hand before him. He pulled the dark haired gladiator into a long hug as he dropped both of his weapons.
"Good luck out there, brother." Sun quietly let out in between gasps of breathe, sweat was running down his entire being from the summer heat and hard fight. "You're fighting for all of us here."
"I'll do my best, I promise." Bolin patted the Faunus' back.
Bolin Hori swore to himself that the victory he would bring in two days time would be for Sun, Nadir, and Ruby.
He would never forget his family that he had found in this hellhole.
Roman watched the sparring match from the second floor balcony. He could puke in his mouth from the scene before him that his precious Core Four displayed. He was dressed in clean black trousers and a white shirt as opposed to his regular robes that he wore to social events and the grand Coliseum.
"Junior." Roman called out to his right-hand man and bodyguard, the man dutifully appeared at his side. "Go get your men ready…. And tell Neo to corral those four into the underground chambers."
"The dressing chamber?" Junior referred to the area where Ruby and the others were often brought to in order to be dressed for parties that Roman hosted at his Villa.
"No." Roman's eyes glinted with a secret that he only seemed to know, "The dungeon."
Junior smirked at the command; it had been far too long since they had brought anyone to the dungeon.
"Ms. Belladonna, if you could be so kind to help me tend to the garden outside once you're done here." Klein found the slave tending to the laundry.
The slave nodded as she had a few more linen to tend to before she was done there. Blake had taken a liking to Klein, he was a kind and patient man… but he did have a bit of a temper. Something Blake was glad to never have been on the receiving end before. And she never intended to put herself in that position.
Blake finished the task at hand and she made way from the laundry area to the courtyard in back. She was familiar with the Schnee Villa at this point as her Master allowed her to wander around the home. Though it was an unspoken rule for Blake to wander into Weiss' personal office.
The Faunus took note of her Master who sat out in the parlor going over a few important looking documents. Blake paid no heed to her as she briskly went out into the courtyard to help tend the yard work.
Weiss didn't miss the subtle exchange from her only house slave. With a sigh, the merchant set down the weekly report in hand and sat back in the soft cushions of her couch.
Was she as bad as Roman? Her own slave seemed to do her best to keep to herself and to keep conversation to a minimum despite Weiss' best attempt to make the Faunus open up a bit more, then again there was the obvious fact that Blake is her slave.
But slavery had been around Remnant for as long as time itself it seemed. Even the great Four Great Kingdoms were founded on the basis of slave labor. It was slaves that built that grand Palace in the mountains of Mistral. It was slaves that worked the fields of Vale. Slaves mined the precious Dust crystals in the frozen Atlas tundra. And slaves bore the desert heat of Vacuo as they did labor in the 100-degree weather.
Weiss like to think she was more than amicable to her slave's needs – Blake slept in comfort with fine linens and cushions, she was dressed in clothes that were in good repair, and she ate the same food that they did since Klein did all the cooking.
Maybe it was her name… It was no secret that Jacques Schnee was not particularly fond of the Faunus. In fact, her father often sent the Faunus slaves into the mines. Weiss knew that her father's treatment of the Faunus slaves made for good gossip when she wasn't in the room – perhaps Blake had caught wind of this and is trying to keep a distance.
Because the apple never falls far from the tree… right?
The merchant lamented the situation, was the Schnee name really synonymous with such racism? Her father wasn't the only one in the world who viewed the Faunus as something less than human…
But who was she to talk when she herself owned a Faunus slave.
'I didn't buy Blake because she was a Faunus… she looked like she needed help.' Weiss thought back to that day in the slave market. She couldn't bring herself to look past the slave, who was beaten bloody and was even being undersold. The slaver called her insubordinate and stubborn. Said the Faunus was a thief caught in a noble's manor and subsequently sentenced to slavery when she attempted to resist arrest and wounded some of the noble's guards.
Oddly enough, Weiss thought of Ruby when she first saw Blake, because Blake wore the same empty expression that she would often see on Ruby – the same lonely expression that piqued Weiss' interest in the gladiator in the first place.
And she thought to herself she would try to help Blake get out of there – the same way Ruby tried to help Neptune during Roman's party all that time ago.
'So what do I want to be to Blake? Her master….' Weiss looked outside as she watched those golden eyes carefully tend to the bed of lavender flowers. Blake worked really well with her hands, something Weiss noticed right off the bat when the slave started working around the house. And Klein had mentioned a few times that Blake had a quick wit as well.
Maybe she would try to cross the proverbial line.
Maybe she could try to be Blake's friend.
Instead of the usual fire crystals, flame torches lit the stones of the underground chambers. The floor of the room was slick with splatters of blood as the guards before them continually beat the two of the three occupants who were chained.
"We didn't do anything!" Bolin cried out once more as he strained against the chains that held him against the wall with his arms spread out wide. He cried out once more as he watched Nadir let out a loud grunt from Junior burying his fist into the slave's gut.
Sun received the blunt end of the club once more to his stomach; his right eye had swollen shut from the sheer amount of times that Junior's henchmen had hit him.
Bolin figured he was being spared such treatment since he was to fight in two days time.
But what made matters worse was that Ruby was separated from the group as soon as they had made way to the underground section of the Villa.
At first they didn't think much of it, often times they were summoned to the underground section of the Villa for various things – most of the time it was to properly bathe if Roman was going to be throwing a party that evening. He always had to show off his best gladiators at these gatherings.
What they didn't expect was to see a group of Junior and his men waiting for them to put them into chains and then be brought into what was the most dreaded part of the underground – Roman Torchwick's personal dungeon.
They all had spent the first few nights here when they were first purchased, the new slaves were never immediately allowed to live with the other slaves until they went through Roman's indoctrination training. Which would take place here in the dungeon.
So no slave of Roman ever had fond memories of their first few nights in the Villa.
"That's enough boys." The slimy voice echoed off the stonewalls, a low hum could be heard as the tune carried ever so eerily through the dungeon that Bolin, Sun, and Nadir had been chained to.
The eldest gladiator narrowed his eyes – Roman Torchwick looked absolutely refreshed.
"Bring her in here."
Neo came in, flanked by two guards who dragged what seemed to be a corpse.
"RUBY!" Bolin roared as he noticed the glossed over look – he had only seen it once before and the evidence in front of him was as clear as the summer day. He strained once more against his chains, the iron cuffs at his wrists dug into his flesh. Bolin was more animal than human at this point – his eyes raged with red, his neck strained forward, and his wrists threatened to break as he wanted nothing more than to put his hands around Torchwick's throat and wipe that smug grin off his lips.
"You bastard!" Nadir finally snapped through the haze from being hit in the head one too many times. He caught sight of the smallest gladiator who was simply slumped on the floor in the corner. Junior responded with a right cross to the Wilding's face.
The one good eye Sun had left glanced over to the corner; the usually cheery slave began to weep at the sight in front of him. "You… Oum damn it all." He could hardly bare to look. "I swore…. I'd protect her…." The Faunus' tears began to fall to the floor.
Ruby Rose was naked and lay defeated in the corner.
"Chin up Wukong, it's almost over." Roman walked over to the Faunus and observed the damage, "Did you really have to hit him that hard in the face Junior? He's popular with all the ladies."
"My bad boss." Junior shrugged.
"Get her up." Roman motioned to the slave in the corner.
Junior roughly grabbed Ruby by her wrists and forced her to stand in the middle of the room.
"Stop!" Bolin pleaded once more, "How much more will you put her through?! She didn't do anything!"
"Gag him." The slave master kept his cool, two of the guards grabbed a piece of cloth and proceeded to stuff it into Bolin's mouth, "You're lucky I need you in good fighting form."
Neo smiled at the sight before her; there was something about all of this that always seemed absolutely fun to her.
"Neo, if you will." Roman held out his hand, the slaver complied as she produced the documents into the slave master's hand.
"So! The reason you're all gathered here today is because of this!" He unfurled the documents in his hands and Bolin recognized them.
They were documents proving Ruby's status as a prisoner of war.
"As you know, we are no longer at war with Vale and they have decreed we release the prisoners of war."
The flame torch on the wall caught Roman's eye, with simply wave of his arm, the document in hand caught fire. "Proving if you have the proper documentation of your status as prisoner of war."
Silver eyes watched the papers go up in flames.
It was her ticket to freedom, her proof that she was indeed a prisoner of war.
A proud soldier of Vale's Army.
Ruby looked on at the burning documents: Ruby Rose, Citizen of Vale, Status is currently Prisoner of War…
The growing flames were quickly disintegrating the writing. Roman let go of the official documents once the flames began to lick his fingers. The papers began to turn into useless ash.
A light flicked on and Ruby's eyes burned with anger. She lunged out towards her captor. Junior and Neo caught both of her arms and her face made contact with the stone floor. Bolin jerked at his chains as his muffled screams filled the room.
"Why…. Why are you doing this?" Ruby pleaded in a small voice.
"Simple, it's just good business to keep you here Red." Roman crossed his arms.
"I swear I'll tell everyone what you did! You can't keep me here!" Ruby roared, "I'm a Valesian soldier, Oum damn you!"
Roman walked around the pinned down slave, Junior held Ruby by her head while Neo kept both her arms behind her back. Green eyes made way down the exposed backside of the slave, his eyes stopped at the plump flesh that was Ruby's ass.
Gingerly he kneeled down, a rough palm grazed Ruby's thigh.
The slave immediately stopped moving, her eyes shooting wide at the contact "N-No… please…. N-No more." Tears began to form as the repulsive hand molested her.
Sun snarled against his chains.
Junior responded by grabbing the Faunus' tail with both hands… and snapping the tip in half.
"Arrrrggggggghhhhh!" Sun cried out in pain as his tail waned in agony. The Faunus grit his teeth through it all.
"Sun!" Nadir bellowed. Junior grabbed the club from one of the guards and smacked the Wilding across the face. The Wilding's body slumped forward and it was apparent Nadir was no longer conscious as a fine river of red trickled down the side of his head.
"Well Red, here comes the part where I threaten you." Roman chuckled to himself as he stood up to walk back around to where Ruby's head was pinned. His grin grew bigger as he observed the handiwork that his men had done to Sun and Nadir.
He kneeled down in front of the naked slave, "If you so much as try to even breath a word that sounds like 'Vale' I swear I'll do much more than just this to your friends." He motioned to the two bloody slaves that were chained to the wall. "And I can promise you that Bolin's mother and sister will some how find their way in this room." His green eyes narrowed as he looked up at the dark haired gladiator, "The same thing goes for that green hair whore you thought I didn't know about – I believe her name was Reese Chloris, right Bolin?"
Chains could be heard straining against the wall at the mention of a certain childhood friend.
"So remember, mum is the word." Roman laughed as he motioned for Neo and Junior to let go of Ruby.
Immediately the Valesian scout made a move towards Roman, Neo was quick to intercept her as she drew her sword. With a flick of her wrist, a light wound was decorated across Ruby's collarbone. The point of the sword was at her throat and Ruby remained still.
"This will be our little secret Red, so no telling." Roman cackled as he exited the room.
Ruby remained in the room with her three friends as the guards, Neo, and Junior filed out of the room.
The heavy creak of the iron gate could be heard and the four slaves were locked in together in the dungeon.
"He's a fucking savage." Octavia murmured as three more slaves followed her into the dungeon. She had grabbed Neptune, who was the closest one to her at the time she was notified of what happened, as well as Amelia and Helen as the three were together doing chores around the Villa.
Junior simply approached her after dinner with a key in hand, he told her to grab the Core Four from the dungeon and they might need some medical care.
Octavia's eyes widened at the mention of the dungeon – no slave of Roman had fond memories of there.
Helen put a hand to her mouth at the gory sight.
"Holy shit…" Neptune went wide eye.
"Hurry up and open the gate." Bolin's raw voice could be heard, "Sun and Nadir need treatment." His voice was hoarse from all the yelling he had done.
Neptune looked at the two in question, his eyes cringed at the disfigured shape of Sun's tail that was simply limp and the mop of blond hair was matted in sweat and blood.
"Nadir… first… he hasn't woken up." Sun managed out despite the cuts he had inside his mouth.
"I… We need the other slaves here to help carry them." Amelia stated.
"Go get the other gladiators down here and tell them to bring the cot." Neptune instructed, the house slave nodded, she was quick to leave the area.
"What happened to his tail?" Helen questioned, she had a bit of medical knowledge under her belt and was more than willing to help out.
"Junior snapped it." Bolin answered, Octavia undid his shackles first.
"Help us get Nadir down." She asked. Neptune was already standing in front of the Wilding to help support his dead weight.
The chains were undone and Nadir was gently laid down on the floor as they turned their attention to the Faunus.
Sun whimpered as he landed on the floor, pain shot out like lightening up his spine as his tail remained limp. He refused to hold still as he attempted to make a move towards the far corner of the dungeon.
"Take it easy man." Neptune tried to stop the Faunus, but Sun refused.
Octavia bit the inside of her cheek at whom it was Sun was trying to make it to.
Ruby was curled up in the corner, still naked.
"What happened to-" Neptune started.
"Roman." Sun growled as he painstakingly made his way next to Ruby.
A small cry could be heard as Sun tried to place a hand in between her shoulders, "Ruby… it's me." He tried again, "It's Sun."
Bolin walked over to the pair and looked the girl over; quickly he removed his tunic and crouched down near Ruby. "Hey… it's Bolin." His voice was calm and gentle, the two smiled as they notice Ruby finally respond and turn over to look at the two. "You look cold, wear my shirt, please." Bolin gently urged.
Ruby nodded as she sat up enough to pull the over sized cloth over her head. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, but no one said a word about it. Sun simply motioned towards Ruby, "May I?" He asked as he offered to put a reassuring arm around her.
Ruby looked Sun over, a knot of guilt burned in the pit of her stomach as she looked over her friend's current state. She nodded her head and allowed Sun to slip his arm around her.
She felt safe in her friend's embrace, as Bolin remained seated next to the two.
They waited until the others arrived to help carry Nadir out to the infirmary with the three in tow.
"That all you got?" The silver haired Fall champion danced circles around Bolin. The Arena roared in applause after the last exchange between the two gladiators. Mercury donned light plate armor that easily bounced off Bolin's strikes at him. For the time being, it really seemed as if Bolin would lose this one.
It seemed hardly fair, but Bolin was used to these types of odds.
What also didn't help was the thing that had happened two days prior… Sun and Nadir were still asleep in the infirmary when he left with Torchwick and Neo that morning.
Bolin had spent a better part of the night with Ruby, he simply stayed with her before she softly coaxed him to get some rest for his big match. He complied, but he slept on the floor of her room – he refused to leave her alone.
What Roman did to her made him want to snap the man in half with his bare hands… but Bolin knew that he was in no position to do such things. Not when the slave master had made those threats on his family and childhood friend.
He always saw her when she came to watch his matches, this time was no different. His brown eyes caught sight of her emerald green hair, she sat together with his mother and sister towards the front of the stands.
He had no time to even smile at Reese Chloris as Mercury came charging in at him.
Bolin raised his sword to block the strike, swiftly he brought up the edge of his shield and jammed the rim into an opening of the Fall champion's armor, right below his solar plexus. Before Mercury could register what was going on, Bolin thrust his entire weight behind the wedged in shield.
A gasp could be heard coming from Mercury as he lost his breath, he began choking harder once he fell flat on his back on to the sands of the Arena. The dark haired gladiator wasted no time – he let go of his shield and raised his sword above his head. He brought the blade down on Mercury's armor and a clean slice could be seen.
A small trickle of blood began flowing out.
Mercury planted a kick into Bolin's side, but the new wound on his chest stung him. He prayed to Oum that the cut wasn't deep. He saw Bolin try to pick up his shield from the ground, but Mercury wouldn't let him as he abruptly brought his sword down on where he thought Bolin's arm was going.
He miscalculated how fast the Torchwick gladiator could move.
The two fell into a heap as Bolin tackled Mercury back on to the ground. A solid jab landed on the Fall champion's chin and a left hook caught him across the cheek. While Mercury was dazed, Bolin got back up and kicked his opponent's sword away from him.
The Coliseum was in an uproar.
Here was the Fall Champion in his best armor, beaten black and blue as he lay panting on his back.
Bolin raised his sword hand in the air, the blade poised for the final strike on his opponent.
But the gladiator knew that he had to wait for his Master's judgment of Mercury.
Roman Torchwick in his fine garb of white and red stood, his wine cup still in hand. With his free hand he brought a finger to his lips, and like a well tamed dog, the Arena complied.
"A fine battle!" Roman proclaimed, a wave of cheers erupted and then quieted back down to wait for the famous gladiator owner to continue, "Only the finest send off for Bolin Hori after completing his road to redemption. With this, you are a free man." Roman smiled sickly as his green eyes bore into Bolin's brown ones. The gladiator fought the urge to snarl at the conniving slave master.
"Today is a day to celebrate, today is a day to rejoice – and it is because of this I shall judge you!" Roman looked over at Mercury who still lay on the ground, utterly terrified of the sword that was being held above him. The sword that could end his very life if he did on wrong move.
"You! Mercury Black, Champion of Cinder Fall – who is also my good friend." Roman did an exaggerated gesture to the woman in question that sat in a lavish chair next to his own. "I shall judge you benevolently on this day of celebration!"
His hand was held out in front of him, the same hand that had sentenced many men alike to their doom. Instead of it's usual judgment, instead his thumb was pointed skyward.
"You shall live to fight another day!" His voice echoed off of the entire Coliseum.
With a deep breathe, Bolin lowered his sword and looked once more to the slave master who stood in the marble stands above him. Roman nodded at him, as if commanding him to do what he usually does after a victory.
For one last time, Bolin held his sword towards the crowd as he flourished it a few times.
His name echoed like thunder off the walls and buildings. The whole kingdom of Mistral seemed to be jammed pack into the Coliseum to witness with their own eyes the legendary gladiators himself.
Bolin Hori
After a while, the newly freed gladiator made his way out of the sands and inside the Coliseum itself. Instead of exiting through the guarded slave gate, he was instead guided by Neo elsewhere – it was the gate that the general audience would use to freely enter and exit the Coliseum.
He could hear his name in conversations as he strode down the stone hallway; the attendee's lined the walls and made way for the free man. A few bystanders patted his shoulder and complimented his fighting skills.
Bolin simply nodded as he was focused on making it out of the blasted stone prison.
Neo stopped right at the entrance and slipped a rolled up document into Bolin's hand, with a wave of her hand she motioned for him to go.
Before stepping out into the open, Bolin looked down at the parchment – it was papers that identified him as a free man.
Turning at her heel, Neo left and disappeared into the throngs of people that filled the stone hallway. Bolin waited until he could no longer pick out the pink and brown locks of the slaver.
With a careful step, he exited the Coliseum.
But despite the jovial occasion that the day was, Bolin couldn't help but feel empty inside.
His heart called out to his friends that were still captive under that monster.
The gladiator swore that he would find a way to free them and get those he cared about away from the city.
Away from Mistral.
Away from Roman Torchwick.
The Torchwick Villa was once again bursting with cheer and merriment as the finest Mistrali elite and nobles mingled about. The wine was flowing a plenty and the food itself should be considered a delicacy for once again Roman's cooking staff had out done themselves.
And one could not forget the beautiful slaves that Master Torchwick owned, their famed techniques and seduction are a famous topic that is often discussed behind closed doors or under excited hushed tones. Ruby watched wordlessly as one of the guests at the party paid their dues in order to have some quality time with one of the house slaves. She knew her part well as her body flowed like fine silk, her hand gingerly took that of the greasy red-faced pig and led him to one of the secluded areas of the home.
Ruby inwardly recoiled at the thought.
However, being the famed Reaper she kept a stoic face as she stood in her ornate armor and red cloak – she stood alone tonight as Sun and Nadir were still recovering from their wounds.
"So tell us more about your famed Reaper, surely she too has a road to redemption that she is following like Bolin?" A man called out to the slave Master himself.
"The Reaper, you ask?" Roman's green eyes flashed dangerously at Ruby, his gaze reminded her of a certain promise that he intended to keep should she be insubordinate.
His fine white and red robes flowed around him as he thoughtfully drank from his cup of wine. The attention of the entire room was on him as he sauntered over to where his now absolute best gladiator stood on display. Cinder Fall watched with delight as she looked on – she wondered what tale her dear friend was about to spin.
"The Reaper! When I first met her she was like a Wilding, an animal whose only instinct was to survive."
I was a prisoner of war.
"She was chained up more so than any other slaves, separated even as even the fine gentlemen of the slave market had great difficulty trying to tame such a beast." Roman paused as he gave a long and thoughtful look into Ruby's silver eyes; he smirked as he continued on with his story. "I asked the slave holders what her crime was – murder! She killed one of our countrymen out in the wilds!"
I was captured after my scouting mission went bad.
"You see… The Reaper is not like any other slave I've ever possessed. She has a natural instinct to simply kill. For she grew up a rogue out in the wilds, she survived life beyond these safe walls we live in, she grew up hunting Grimm for sport, animals for food, and then she made the grave mistake of murdering some of our finest men."
I was an orphan and a proud scout for the Kingdom of Vale. I learned how to kill Grimm during my training with the Army and my experience comes from my many scouting missions where I often went alone and unafraid to deter enemy detection.
"And now the Reaper is simply here under my tutelage and my dear Neo's training." Once more he made a grand gesture to Ruby who stood above them all on the podium, displayed before the crowd like a fine vase for all to simply admire, "Will fight to the death in the Coliseum as she carries out her punishment of slavery until her dying breathe for the murder of our countrymen."
And I am stuck here under threat of certain death on my friends.
Ruby clenched her jaw as she forced herself to maintain a blank face, the party goers about her cheered and applauded Roman's fine speech.
And like the slow roll of thunder she could hear her namesake echo off the walls of the Villa.
Reaper.
Reaper.
Reaper!
Reaper! Reaper! Reaper!
She closed her eyes as the crowd continued to roar in excitement, she clutched the handle of the ornate sword at her hip and once more flourished the blade before the crowd.
Her eyes were dull as she looked about the horde.
A lot had changed in the past two days.
Ruby put her sword back in the sheath as the partygoer's cheers died down.
"Excellent showmanship as always, Red." Roman complimented as he motioned for her to get down from the podium, "Anyways, you've been requested tonight."
Weiss Schnee stood in the corner together with Coco Adel, Velvet Scarlatina, and Pyrrha Nikos. Roman himself personally invited them while they all watched Bolin Hori's final match in the Coliseum. She was mildly impressed with Roman's speech about Ruby's life before slavery, Weiss never would have guessed Ruby to have lived such a hard life before.
Not that life seemed much better for her now.
The merchant took note that Ruby seemed less… lively. Usually the gladiator would wear a much more stoic face, her steel eyes would be constantly scanning the room during these parties. And Weiss was expecting that gladiator to at least find her in the crowd, the merchant had not forgotten their night together… and a part of her was hoping that Ruby would have thought the same too.
'Wishful thinking, I suppose.' Weiss sighed as she sipped her wine, she watched as the gladiator followed her master through the crowd and to the rooms upstairs.
'Definitely wishful thinking.' Weiss Schnee knew what it usually meant for a slave to go upstairs during these parties.
"Is something wrong, Weiss?" Velvet questioned as she noticed the cross look that had developed on Weiss' face.
"It's nothing." She put up a quick smile to the design partner of the rather famous fashionista that is Coco Adel.
Pyrrha was observant of her friend; she caught sight of the Reaper heading to the upstairs portion of the Villa. She too knew what that meant, and she could take a good guess as to why Weiss seemed so solemn.
Ruby inwardly cringed, but kept a straight face. She took a silent deep breath as she followed the slave master into the upstairs portion of the Villa. In a dimly lit room was a familiar face that Ruby knew all too well.
"I'm sure you remember Cinder Fall." Roman smiled as he caught eyes with the seductress herself.
"I sure remember you, Red." Cinder sauntered over to the gladiator like a lion stalking a sheep, with sharp eyes she smiled at the blank look on Ruby's face. "You look absolutely delectable." She smiled to herself, she really did prefer the Reaper to look as she did now.
Miserable and utterly defeated.
"Is there anything else I could get you, Cinder?" Roman grinned at his friend, "After all, the Torchwick name is forever grateful for your services."
"Oh Roman, I only ask for a bit of privacy so that I can play with my toy tonight." She licked her lips in anticipation.
Ruby remained stoned face as she went through a mantra in her head to keep her from strangling her master. It wasn't just her life that was on the line, she constantly kept thoughts of Sun, Nadir, and even Bolin's well-being should she piss off anyone tonight.
Ruby had to stay strong.
"Of course, play nice now, Red." Roman nodded to the two as he shut the door behind him.
"Now then…. What shall we do tonight, my dear Reaper?" Cinder sat back on the bed, the loose red robes she wore easily rode up her thighs as they revealed the long creamy white legs of hers.
"What ever you please, Master Fall." Ruby's response was automatic.
"Such a good answer." With her long index finger she motioned for Ruby to come closer.
The gladiator complied and removed her sword belt and cape as she set the two items down on the floor.
She steadied her thoughts as she tried to steer clear of… that time with… that monster…. In the dungeon. Instead she tried to think of something else, something more pleasant.
More safe.
More caring.
More passionate.
All Ruby could think of the whole night was white hair and lonely eyes that shone like diamonds. She hoped to Oum that she could experience another blissful night like that – because it was something she wanted to feel again in order to wash away the bitter memories that decorated her very being.
A/N:
Pretty heavy stuff going on this chapter, I hope you guys stick around to see what will happen to Roman at the end of all of this haha.
I've been writing, but not as much as I would like to - not too much free time out here. I really do appreciate the awesome messages and reviews everyone has been leaving me, it definitely gives me motivation to keep writing despite how long my day has been.
I ended up splitting this chapter in half with everything that I wanted to go on for the plot, so bear with me if it seemed a little short this time around.
As always, I sincerely hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and maybe I'll see you again in the next one.
Cheers,
DevilRed